Since the nineteenth century, a tradition of sport fishing has existed alongside the centuries-old traditions of harvesting fish for subsistence and commercial purposes. Local commercial harvesters worked as fishing guides, earning extra income by taking paying guests—typically from New York City—to historically productive fishing areas on Long Island and in the Catskills, the Finger Lakes region, and the Adirondacks.
Fishermen and Baymen
From the Waterfront
…Over the following weeks, I received calls
from FEMA and the National Park Service,
who wanted to see the bungalows and the
bay houses that survived. The staff of these
large agencies were as curious as I was as to
why the bungalows showed little damage.
From that point on, they recommended that
residents begin planting beach grass to create
dunes, a scene we saw happening throughout
coastal communities in the following months.
View from the Waterfront
Fishermen and boaters have a long history
of contending with Mother Nature. Alongside
them are boat builders and boatyard owners,
who are entrusted with protecting their customers’
vessels, recreational and commercial
alike. After Superstorm Sandy there may be
some important lessons to be learned from
these tradition bearers.
From the Waterfront
The boatyard has a long and impressive history, as one of the first to cater to recreational fishermen and boaters in this “Five Towns” community on Long Island’s South Shore….The architecture of boatyards is somewhat traditional, but there are unique structures
found in each one.
From the Waterfront
On Long Island, many baymen earned extra money on the side, bringing booze from offshore boats that traveled from the West Indies to the waters offLong Beach. Their small garveys and skiffs were difficult to detect, especially at night, and waiting cars and trucks quickly collected the barrels and boxes of imported liquor.