Local fishermen, shrimpers reflect struggles in seafood industry

Charleston has benefitted economically and culturally from its special coastal position at the mouth of two rivers as well as the vibrant fishing community dependent on its rich natural resources.

Mark Marhefka understands very well how heavily these coastal resources impact the local community.

Marhefka has been fishing up and down the East Coast for the past 30 years, spending much of that time in the Lowcountry. He catches grouper and snapper offshore and sells the fish to Charleston restaurants.

He says he has always been successful as a fisherman but now says he is struggling to preserve his way of life as state and federal governments attempt to manage dwindling fish populations.

Marhefka said this is the first year he opted not to go and fish on more than one occasion because it wasn't "economically feasible to do so."

Mel Bell, director of the Office of Fisheries Management at the Department of Natural Resources, said government must try to balance the economic effects of greater restrictions with the responsibility to keep fishing ecosystems healthy.

"State regulations do restrict people, but that's the nature of resource management," said Bell. "It is not done lightly or without consideration of the socio-economic impacts."

Bell pointed to New England's cod populations that were fished almost to the point of extinction as an example of what can happen when governments fail to regulate and conserve finite resources.

Ellie Barry, owner of Crosby's Seafood, said she has felt pressure on her business as the strain of inflation and tightening regulations have dramatically affected profitability in recent years.

Increasing public awareness about who catches seafood and where it is caught has brought light to the struggles of this industry.

It has taken many years for the public to become educated and concerned about where their food comes from, said Barry. "That whole local drive is just fantastic."

Marhefka said that if the public really wants to support what he and his peers in the industry do, they should ask if the seafood they want to buy was caught by a local fisherman, not whether the seafood was caught locally because large commercial fishing boats also operate in local waters.

Uncertainty is a constant in this business. The livelihoods of fishermen and shrimpers depend on the rhythms of the seasons.

Barry said 90 percent of the local white shrimp were killed in the past year because of the harsh winter. But despite such conditions, she considers it a "blessing to wake up here every day."

Rocky Magwood, 33, has been in the shrimping business his whole life. The boat he first worked on was one his grandfather built in 1958.

He works for Wando Shrimp Company, which has been running boats out of Shem Creek for more than 50 years.

"I want to preserve (the coast) to be the best that it can be," said Magwood. "This is a big fishing community. A lot of people still love to see us here and appreciate us."