Scott Wivell, age 29 at the time of his interview, is a waterman in Cape Charles, VA. Scott grew up fishing with his father and is now the owner-operator of the F/V Lady Lynnae, which he uses for gillnettting, crabbing and oystering. Scott markets some of his own catch and thinks about having a retail market someday.

Scope and Content Note

In his interview, Scott talks about the economics of fishing for a young person, and the need for better fisheries science and management built on trust and collaboration. He discusses how he got into oyster dredging, although he mentions that regulations have made it challenging for young fishermen to enter certain fisheries due to limited licenses and high costs. Scott discusses his interest in getting into retail to sell seafood directly to consumers, but he highlights the challenges posed by complex paperwork and regulatory barriers. He believes that engaging in retail would offer better job security and opportunities for fishermen. 

What is needed for the next generation to thrive, Scott says, is “[i]deally, management that took fisheries suggestions for the weight of scientific suggestions… We need stock assessments. Because if the population drops in half, we know we got to catch less because they got to reproduce for next year. I understand all that. Because we need a future. But it needs to be a proper assessment. And I feel like a lot of stocks run into that improper assessment… All kinds of stuff up and down the coast, where there’s an assessment done, it just doesn’t line up with what we’re seeing day to day in fisheries. Like, you’ll see a stock that’s abundant and then they tell you it’s not. And so it’s hard to have faith in their word about the stuff you actually agree with them on, because they were wrong about the other stuff, so how are they right about this? There’s little faith there. If you had more of a communication between the scientists and the fishermen, I feel like you would have more sustainability. Because, at the end of the day, we just want to make a good day’s work... And we can’t do that, one, without proper fisheries management, but, two, without having a voice. Because if they don’t listen to us, we have nothing. And I feel like fishermen’s voices are basically muffled."