Oculina Bank Oral History Project
Files
Loading...
Interviewer
Terry L. Howard
Publication Date
8-24-2010
Date
2010-03-09
Abstract
Oral history interview with charter boat captain Irving "Chip" Shafer. Shafer began fishing in 1973 after leaving the Marine Corps and worked as a mate on a friend's boat in North Carolina. Shafer moved to Fort Pierce, Florida, in 1976 and fished his own and other people's boats until 2000. He is presently the captain of a private sport fishing boat that fishes the Pacific coast off of Central America and Mexico. Before it was closed, Oculina Bank was one of the most important deep water bottom fishing grounds, and Shafer fished there often until 1994, when fishing for snapper/grouper species was prohibited in the designated region. Were the area still open, he would continue to fish there. In his opinion, closing an area to fishing is a poor form of management due to its effect on a community's economy. He prefers daily bag limits for recreational fishing, which he believes will sustain the fisheries. In this interview, Shafer also describes some of his fishing techniques, and recounts some memorable stories.
Keywords
Charter boat captains, Charter boat fishing, Fisheries, Fishers, Fishery closures, Fishery management, Fishing
Extent
00:58:35; 38 page transcript
Subject: geographic
Ft. Pierce (Fla.)
Language
English
Media Type
Oral histories
Format
Digital Only
Identifier
O6-00002
Recommended Citation
Shafer, Irving, "Chip Shafer Oral History Interview" (2010). Oculina Bank Oral History Project. 15.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/oculina_ohp/15
Rights Statement
