On February 3, 2004, Nancy Solomon interviewed Edward Lowell Ockers, or Lowell, as part of the Long Island Traditions Oral History Project. Ockers was born in West Sayville in 1933 and has remained a lifelong resident of the area. After serving in the Navy, he began to work on the bay, catching eels using traps purchased from his father–who had also made a living as a local bayman. During the conversation with Solomon, Ockers shares his family’s history with the local maritime industry, recalling his summers spent assisting his father with pound trap fishing. He also speaks at length on West Sayville’s former businesses and community members, including the boat builders and boatyards that operated in the region for decades. Long Island Fish Company and Bluepoints were two of the most prominent companies involved in the fishing industry during the twentieth century. Ockers discusses the processes of shucking and culling oysters as well as the reputation of major companies among local residents–especially in relation to working conditions and practices. Finally, Ockers explains his own methods of storing and selling eels and the decline of full-time baymen in West Sayville.