Biographical Sketch:

Buster McKay is a seasoned fisherman who has been fishing throughout Florida's gulf coast since the late 1940s. He has been fishing Florida’s gulf coast since the early 1940s, commercially catching red snapper and grouper.

Scope and Content:

Calvin Edison Bell was born on November 14, 1929. He is the son of Aaron Park Bell, a commercial fisherman from North Carolina, and Jessie Blanche Fulford. Calvin grew up in a family of seven children, with five brothers and one sister. He lived in the same house in Cortez, Florida, for his entire life. Calvin followed in his father's footsteps and became a commercial fisherman, participating in various types of fishing including mackerel fishing, mullet fishing, and seine fishing.

Carl McCaplan's family has relied on of the Apalachicola Bay for generations. Born in 1968, Carl practically grew up on the water. He remembers going out to oyster with his father when he was just eight years old. As a teenager, Carl moved away, looking for a different life. But the people and the place drew him back. He returned to Apalachicola and invested in his future. In the late 1980s Carl worked with the Oyster Association to replant the oyster beds. Twenty years later, oystermen are now harvesting those areas.

This interview with Chad Haggert was conducted as part of the Recreational Fishermen of the Greater Tampa Bay Voices from the Fisheries Project. This project is a collection of oral histories of recreational fishermen and fisheries managers located in the greater Tampa Bay area of Florida. Interviews in this project were conducted by eighth grade marine science students at Admiral Farragut Academy.

Originally from Tennessee, Charles Pennycuff's parents moved their family to Eastpoint in 1971. Since Charles first saw the bay at the age of seventeen, he has made his living from it. Over the years, Charles has done it all. He has shrimped, oystered, crabbed, and even grunted for worms. His son, Rex, worked the bay, too. Like a lot of folks, though, they wanted something more reliable. In 1993 Charles opened Fisherman's Choice Bait & Tackle in Eastpoint. He has no employees, only his family.

Charles Mills is a long-time resident of the Florida Keys, with a deep understanding of the local environment and the changes it has undergone over the years. His knowledge extends to the intricacies of the local water systems, including the impact of septic tanks and drain fields on the water quality. Mills is a strong advocate for responsible septic tank maintenance, arguing that regular cleaning can prevent system failures and potential contamination of the surrounding waterways.

Interview with Charles "Chuck" Oravetz born December 1942 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He retired from National Marine Fisheries Service in 2001 as Assistant Regional Administrator for Protected Resources.  His work involved developing and implementing TEDs with the Pascagoula, Mississippi lab.

Born in 1942, Charles Thompson spent thirty-plus years of his life as a shrimper. In the 1980s, he began making his own nets. Soon, though, Charles could see that the shrimp business was changing. In 1998 he decided to sell his last boat. Not wanting to sit idle, he began repairing nets and making new nets for the shrimpers in the area. At that time, other net shops in Franklin County were closing. A local net maker by the name of James Copeland passed his skills and his patterns on to Charles. Soon, Charles had a new demand for his handiwork.

Chris Landsea is a prominent meteorologist who has made significant contributions to the field of hurricane research. He began his career as a graduate student at Colorado State University in 1988, where he had the opportunity to work with the renowned scientist, Dr. Bill Gray. During his time as a student, Landsea had the unique opportunity to fly into hurricanes for research purposes. His first flight was into Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, which turned out to be the strongest hurricane ever observed at the time.

Chuck Cress is a charter captain who moved to Sarasota in 1980, and he fished recreationally while working in retail for 20 years, then spent the last 20 years chartering in the Sarasota Bay. He is an inshore captain and stays within a mile of the shore.

Scope and Content Note:

Captain Chuck Cress describes his work as a charter fisherman in the intercoastal Sarasota Bay, Florida, since 1980. He states he primarily catches tarpon, Spanish mackerel, and king mackerel between Bradenton and Englewood.