{"id":13426,"date":"2016-04-12T12:06:32","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T17:06:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=13426"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:28:15","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:28:15","slug":"the-scientist-and-the-fisherman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=13426","title":{"rendered":"The Scientist and the Fisherman"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Niels
Niels Lindquist, a researcher at the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences, has teamed up with a local fisherman, David \u201cClammerhead\u201d Cessna (right) to figure out the best way to grow all-natural oysters along North Carolina\u2019s coast.
(photo by Mary Lide Parker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Crouched down in six inches of mud at dead low tide, a fisherman and a scientist start their work day. With the sun still rising over the Atlantic Beach Bridge, the marsh is serene and silent \u2014 except for the occasional crack of an oyster\u00a0shell.<\/p>\n

\u201cNiels! Look at this one! What a\u00a0beauty!\u201d<\/p>\n

With the excitement of a child on Christmas morning, a 55-year-old Carteret County fisherman holds up a large oyster. His name is David Cessna, but everyone calls him Clammerhead. He stares at the oyster,\u00a0smiling.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/em>I\u2019ve been struck by lightning three times,\u201d he says casually, in a classic eastern North Carolina drawl. \u201cI\u2019ve been shot once, stabbed twice, had over a hundred broken bones, two strokes, three heart surgeries, and six other surgeries. I\u2019ve got a stainless steel ankle, I\u2019ve been married three times, I\u2019ve got 13 kids, and you know what?\u00a0 This right here is the best adventure I\u2019ve ever been on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forging a unique\u00a0partnership <\/strong><\/p>\n

This oyster growing adventure began where many adventures do \u2014 at the UNC<\/span> Institute of Marine Sciences<\/a> in Morehead City. But when UNC<\/span> IMS<\/span> scientists first approached Cessna\u00a0about working with them on some research projects, he wasn\u2019t sure how things would go. \u201cFishermen and scientists haven\u2019t always seen eye-to-eye on this stuff,\u201d he\u00a0says.<\/p>\n

When it comes to figuring out what\u2019s best for the environment and the seafood industry in Morehead City, Cessna says scientists have traditionally taken on one side while fishermen take the other. \u201cThere was always a big gap in communication,\u201d he says. \u201cA lot of it had to do with fishermen not trusting scientists and scientists not understanding a lot of what the fishermen were doing. So they didn\u2019t really have that much interest in what the fishermen were saying.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the UNC<\/span> IMS<\/span> scientists were all ears. \u201cNiels Lindquist and Joel Fodrie were real receptive,\u201d Cessna says. \u201cAnd that helped open the doorway to realizing the scientists aren\u2019t bad\u00a0guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lindquist has a PhD from Scripps Institute of Oceanography in chemical ecology and spent most of his career working with coral reef sponges\u2014knowledge that translates well for better understanding oyster reefs and creating magic material on which to grow oysters. Cessna, on the other hand, has been working on fishing boats since he was 6-years-old, and also has years of experience working in construction. It turns out that knowledge comes in handy for inventing new materials for building oyster reefs\u00a0too.<\/p>\n

Their partnership has fostered greater respect and understanding between the scientific and fishing communities over the past few years, according to Cessna. \u201cThis work has opened up a line of communication that has spread to a lot of people on both sides,\u201d Cessna says. \u201cCommercial fishermen and scientists are now working together better than ever before in coming up with solutions to a lot of the problems we\u00a0face.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tackling the\u00a0problem <\/strong><\/p>\n

North Carolina\u2019s oyster populations are in trouble. Our coastline produced 1.8 million bushels of oysters in 1902, according to Lindquist. Today, only 5 percent of those oyster populations remain. Environmental changes, loss of habitat, pollution, disease and overharvesting are the major\u00a0culprits.<\/p>\n

A healthy adult oyster filters about 50 gallons of water every day. Fewer oysters mean more nutrient pollution\u00a0and contaminates in the water, which leads to less viable product for the seafood industry as a whole. Oysters create healthy habitats for animals like blue crabs and finfish\u2014small species that have a commercial value of $62 million annually, according to the North Carolina Coastal Federation.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite a couple decades of restoration efforts, oyster populations have not come back well at all,\u201d Lindquist\u00a0says.<\/p>\n

He and Cessna are not the first people to try to tackle the issue of North Carolina\u2019s depleted oyster populations. Since it takes up to\u00a0three years for oysters to grow to market size in the wild, many aquaculture set-ups grow oysters modified to have three sets of chromosomes, instead of the natural set of two. Those\u00a0take anywhere from 14 to 18 months to grow to three\u00a0inches.<\/p>\n

With the extra set of chromosomes, the modified oysters (commonly referred to as triploids) cannot reproduce. All the energy that normally\u00a0goes into reproduction gets redirected into growth. In North Carolina, triploid oysters typically reach three inches in 18 to 24\u00a0months.<\/p>\n

The scientist and the fisherman, on the other hand, want to grow market-ready oysters in 12 to 15 months\u00a0\u2014 all\u00a0naturally.<\/p>\n

\"Lindquist
Lindquist holds up a block of his fast-growing oysters behind the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences.
(photo by Mary Lide Parker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Building a\u00a0neighborhood <\/strong><\/p>\n

A traditional oyster bed sits on a mud flat and spreads far in all directions \u2014 a bit like a sprawling suburban\u00a0neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Lindquist and Cessna have built structures that allow their oyster communities\u00a0to grow up instead of out. In place of suburban sprawl, they\u2019re creating oyster apartment buildings. And just like with sky scrapers in a big city, these structures allow them to pack a larger population into a smaller\u00a0space.<\/p>\n

On a blustery cold day in early December, Lindquist and Cessna stand on a sandbar in the middle of the Intracoastal Waterway at low tide. There is a hole somewhere in the waders Lindquist is wearing and his boots have filled with cold water. He doesn\u2019t mind. With a big smile plastered to his face, he shows off his playground of oyster habitats. Over here are the \u201ccow pies\u201d \u2014 circular disks covered in oysters, and over there are the panels \u2014 large, rectangular mats of oysters. One set-up using rods looks like underwater hopscotch. As the tide drops lower, you can see more and more oysters growing in all shapes and sizes, on all kinds of\u00a0surfaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people put out substrates with no oysters on them \u2014 that substrate can just be oyster shell or various types of rock,\u201d Lindquist says. \u201cBasically you cross your fingers and hope the oysters settle, grow and survive. It\u2019s kind of a crapshoot whether that works or\u00a0not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Creating magic\u00a0material\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Cessna holds up one of the long rods that\u00a0looks like it\u2019s been splattered by mud. \u201cSee all those little black specks? Those are baby\u00a0oysters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oysters reproduce through spawning. After the eggs are fertilized,\u00a0they become larvae that drift with the currents for a few weeks. Once the larvae are about 2 to 3 weeks old, they start searching for a hard substrate. The challenge for Lindquist and Cessna was to develop a material that would be solid enough to attract oyster larvae, but not harm the natural environment. It took some tinkering to get the material and structures just right. They spent the better part of three years perfecting the substrate \u2014 a mix of cement and porous natural fabric \u2014 before beginning the field phase of the project. \u201cWe knew we\u2019d have limited resources and we didn\u2019t want to make any unnecessary mistakes,\u201d Cessna says. Once they got the materials in the water, oyster larvae began attaching to\u00a0them.<\/p>\n

They call it an ephemeral substrate. \u201cEphemeral\u201d means \u201clasting for a very short time\u201d, and that\u2019s exactly how this magic material works \u2014 unless oysters attach to it. \u201cIf the oysters like it, they\u2019ll latch on and grow like crazy,\u201d Cessna says. \u201cIf they decide they don\u2019t like it, the substrate just decomposes without harming the\u00a0environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing a billion oysters\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spread your arms wide \u2014 that\u2019s about the width of one of these panels of oysters. <\/em>\u201cWe can grow about 5,000 oysters on each panel and I can still pick it up myself,\u201d Lindquist says, lifting the sodden panel up out of the water. \u201cSo if you think about what a billion oysters would be \u2014 that\u2019s 200,000\u00a0panels.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Lindquist, 200,000 panels is a manageable number, given the right kind of manufacturing support. \u201cIt would take a couple years to reach the target, but we could get there.\u201d\u00a0This past summer, he and Cessna produced 40 panels in a couple hours with just the two of them working in what Lindquist calls \u201ca very low-tech manufacturing\u00a0facility.\u201d<\/p>\n

After hauling their various types of substrates to their oyster neighborhood, oyster larvae from the passing waters settled onto their substrates, creating the dense oyster\u00a0communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of people out there who grow oysters and think we\u2019re crazy,\u201d Lindquist says,\u00a0chuckling.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut as soon as people see this, they get it,\u201d Cessna adds.<\/p>\n

Most North Carolinians are familiar with the flat, razor-shaped oysters. But oysters don\u2019t necessarily have to grow that way. \u201cThat\u2019s because they don\u2019t have room to expand. What we\u2019re doing is giving them a lot more room to expand,\u201d Cessna says. Their oysters are more round, plump, and\u00a0meaty.<\/p>\n

Getting down to\u00a0business <\/strong><\/p>\n

The annual U.S.<\/span> oyster harvest is currently valued at around $250 million, according to Lindquist. If he and Cessna can scale up their operation, expanding it to other states \u2014 and eventually the entire Atlantic Coast \u2014 he believes it could \u201ccontribute significantly\u201d to the number of oysters grown in the nation and the value of that harvest. Lindquist is currently awaiting approval of the patent he submitted to the U.S.<\/span> Patent Office.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Lindquist is keeping close tabs on companies with similar ideas. \u201cI just got an e-mail from a company in New Zealand that\u2019s developing a biodegradable cable tie. I had sent them an e-mail about a year ago asking if we could get a sample. They said, \u2018We\u2019re moving towards manufacturing \u2014 we just need to get an idea of who would be interested in using this material. Are you interested?\u2019\u201d Yes, the scientist and the fisherman from Carteret County, North Carolina are very interested. \u201cThat ephemeral nature is dear to us,\u201d Lindquist says. \u201cWe could use those cable ties to very quickly tie together a structure and not worry about introducing plastic trash into the\u00a0environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s too early in the game to be estimating potential dollar amounts, but Lindquist is hopeful it will become an industry that generates a lot of revenue, jobs, and opportunities for people in different places. \u201cJust the manufacturing of the substrate can become an industry that could employ a lot of people,\u201d he says. \u201cBecause it\u2019s ephemeral, you need to come back and get more of it every year. If we grow the business, that makes the demand even higher. That could become a pretty substantial part of the\u00a0business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working with the Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise<\/a>, and the Small Business and Technology Development Center of North Carolina<\/a>, Cessna and Lindquist are exploring the many possible avenues for funding\u00a0their start-up business. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at all the different options available to us,\u201d Lindquist says. \u201cWe can grow new oysters for the consumption market, for building reefs along shorelines, for helping to restore oyster habitat. We just need to understand each market a little better, and see what makes the most\u00a0sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Putting something back\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rebuilding North Carolina\u2019s oyster population is no small task but Cessna and Lindquist have enthusiastically stepped up to the plate. \u201cWe can do a lot of good for fishing communities by bringing this technology to different water bodies,\u201d Lindquist\u00a0says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to work with commercial fishermen to develop a program where everybody benefits from growing oysters \u2014 for food markets but also for restoration and living shorelines.\u201d He and Cessna are already working on developing partnerships with the Division of Marine Fisheries<\/a> and the Coastal Federation<\/a> to make this a\u00a0reality.<\/p>\n

When Cessna talks about sustaining coastal fisheries and this oyster work in particular, he compares being a good fisherman to being a good farmer. \u201cYou only take what is ready to harvest, you only take it down to a certain level, and when given the opportunity, you put something back,\u201d he says. \u201cThis gives me a chance to be involved in the scientific aspect of putting something back for future generations. The way things look to us now \u2014 this is a good tool to re-populate the oysters in this area and in a lot of other areas. And that\u2019s something to feel pretty good\u00a0about.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Niels Lindquist is a professor at the UNC<\/span> Institute of Marine Sciences and the Department of Marine Sciences in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences. His work is supported by grants from NOAA<\/span>, North Carolina Sea Grant, the N.C.<\/span> Biotechnology Center and Coastal Plantations International,\u00a0Inc.<\/em><\/p>\n

David \u201cClammerhead\u201d Cessna is a seventh-generation Carteret County fisherman and has been working with the UNC<\/span> Institute of Marine Sciences for over three years.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

By Mary Lide Parker and Alyssa LaFaro, Endeavors magazine<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What do you get when you combine new science with decades of knowledge from local fishermen? A lot of homegrown North Carolina oysters. A whole lot. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13427,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-natural-sciences-mathematics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13426"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47677,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13426\/revisions\/47677"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}