Working The Water

Out on the waters of Apalachicola Bay, Kendall Schoelles is his own boss. He's proud to say, "Oysterman is what they call me, or commercial fisherman. You get on, put your supplies on the boat, you go out, you start your day."

It's been the same routine for the past 25 years. Heading out in his small boat to scour the waters searched by generations before him. These waters of Apalachicola Bay are east of Pensacola on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The Bay has a mixture of fresh and seawater. A perfect place for aquatic agriculture. In this case: oysters. Kendall says, "Indians used to get em. So there's always been oysters here. Far as man, as back as man goes we know it."

Oystermen don't wear suits to haul up the harvest anymore out on the water, but the decidedly low-tech method of getting the oysters off the floor of this shallow bay hasn't changed much. Kendall uses large wooden handled tongs to rake up the oysters. After 25 years, he's got it down pretty well.

He points to his technique, "Basically what you do, you push down on it. Pull in and up. Basically one motion." He says he's never fallen into the water. He's come close but these days he just pursues his "fold and hold" method to bring in the catch. He lets us try our hand and we grab a few, but certainly nothing like the oyster load that he hauls in.

Once enough oysters are on the boat, they need to be sorted. Kendall only wants the shell with the oyster inside, so all of the other stuff has to get cleaned off. He says, "You wanna knock all the shell and debris off, so you can go back in the water and let another oyster attach to it and grow, grow another one." He points to a collection can with burlap in it, "That's the baggin' can. That's how you bag em up in individual bags. Around 60 pounds a bag."

We ask if we can crack some open. He's happy to do so and we sample the catch right on board the boat. Does Kendall eat them all the time? "I want em every now and then. Not a whole lot. I've been doing it for 25 years. I don't really care to see an oyster when I get home."

Of course the oysters here aren't growing without help. These waters are seeded with old shells. Tiny baby oysters attach to the shells, where they'll stay, that is until Kendall finds them. Once he has a big enough haul, Kendall will take the oysters to the shore to be shucked. Here at the 13 Mile Oyster Company they clean and shuck the oysters to get them out to restaurants and stores all across the Southeast. Tommy Ward owns the company and leases sections out on the bay for oystering.

Just like Kendall, working on the water is in the Ward family blood. Tommy's son is the fourth generation working here. He'll likely take it over one day. It's a source of pride that is beyond words for Tommy. "There's a little over about 500 acres of lease bottom in Apalachicola bay and I have over half. I mean, what man wouldn't want a son to.anyway. You know any man who would always want his son to follow in his footsteps, if he set a good example for him to follow."

The oyster business is like any other agricultural endeavor. High fuel prices hit folks like Tommy and Kendall hard. And drought conditions change the fresh to saltwater ratio and that means fewer oysters. Kendall says, "At one time, there was like 1500 oystermen oystering. And I think it's down to about 300 right now. A few bad years and people move on. Regulations and different stuff like that." Asked how long he'll stick around, Kendall smiles and says, "'Til they run me off. This is my life right here. All you gotta do is look around. It don't get no prettier than this. This is a little part of heaven to me."

The Hard Shelled Story
The ancient Romans thought that eating oysters could improve your love life. Speaking of which, while there are male and female oysters, their reproductive organs allow them to change their sex one or more times during their life span.