James Reilly, 33 years old at the time of the interview, is a captain of a clam vessel based out of Oceanside, NY and Atlantic City, NJ. James grew up on Long Island as the son of a fisherman, and despite discouragement from his mother, he wound up working as crew for his father and then taking over his father's captain job when his father retired. He operates the fishing vessel Ocean Girl, targeting surf clams and ocean quahogs with hydraulic dredges. 

Scope and Content Note

In his interview, James talks about being the youngest captain in his company's fleet, the difficulty of finding reliable crew, and the need for vocational training programs to interest young people in fishing. He shares how the fishery has evolved over the years, with larger boats catching significantly more clams than his smaller vessel. James expresses concern about the changing nature of the fishing industry and the consolidation of licenses, which has led to the decline of many independent fishermen. He also discusses the possibility of direct marketing as an alternative to selling through middlemen and believes it could be a viable option for small-scale fishermen to thrive in the future. He explains that the state changed the fishery to an Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) system, which later became an Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) system. James talks about New York State's regulations and calls for more industry input in fisheries management decisions. He also mentions his interest in scalloping and considers it a potential option if fishing becomes unsustainable in the future. 

He talks about the changes in the fishing industry over the years, especially the decline of the Great South Bay due to ecological changes. Reilly attributes the bay's decline to pollution, including fertilizers running into the bay and the development of the area, converting it from duck farms to suburbs. Reilly also touches on the need to attract younger people to the fishing profession and suggests vocational programs as a way to introduce new talent to the industry. Additionally, he shares his willingness to let his future children choose their own path, but if they decide to become fishermen, he would be supportive and proud.

"I heard someone say that we’re witnessing the death of the commercial fisherman in my generation, and I choose not to believe that," James says. "When I’m eighty years old, another fifty years from now, where are we going to be at? Is this it? Or are we going to get smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller, to the point where commercial fishing doesn’t exist? I sure hope not. That would be a sad day. That would be a real sad day. Besides the livelihood and people making a living and being able to live, all the tradition and all of the heritage and how many people’s legacies, so to speak, suddenly go down with the ship?... That would be a really sad thing to see happen."