Effects of Nonnative Fishes on Commercial Seine Fisheries: Evidence from a Long-Term Data Set

Dozens of introduced exotic freshwater fish species inhabit the state of Florida. These nonnative fishes interact with freshwater commercial fisheries in a variety of ways, influencing catch abundance, composition, and revenue. Using a 22-year data set collected from a commercial haul seine fishery, we aimed to explore the dynamics of yield and revenue in relation to nonnative fishes, with emphasis on the suckermouth armored catfishes (Pterygoplichthys spp.). Using profit index metrics and the inverse Simpson’s diversity index, we found that non-native tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) and brown hoplo (Hoplosternum littorale) provided economic benefits while suckermouth armored catfishes seemed to disrupt catch consistency and lower profit index values. To reduce the negative impacts of the suckermouth armored catfishes and subsequently exert pressure on their population, we suggest marketing these edible fishes for human and/or animal consumption.

Welcome to the Island: The Lewis Fishery in Context

This chapter is a thick description which introduces readers to the cultural and historical context of the Lewis Fishery, and the basics of the traditional haul seine method of fishing. The introduction gives the feel of the island, a sketch of the fishing method, and a barebones outline of the fishery’s history. Chapter sections include a description of the landscape of the island and surrounding river towns; the process, history, economics, and environmental aspects of haul seine shad fishing in the Delaware River Valley region; a description of what makes the shad unique and shad foodways; the fishery’s and island’s material culture; a history of Lambertville and its relationship to neighboring New Hope; a description of the annual Shad Festival and its relationship with the Lewis Fishery; and an overview of the groups of people that visit the fishery (family members, crew, customers, and other visitors) and their ethnic diversity.

Another Haul

When people cross the footbridge to Lewis Island in the Delaware River at Lambertville, NJ, they’re in a “whole ‘nother world”: wild and civilized, stable atop changing water and earth. Here lies the last commercial haul seine fishery on the non-tidal Delaware, where Lewis family members have netted since 1888 and have long monitored the fluctuating shad population. The island also serves as a spiritual, recreational, and community site for local and regional visitors, whom the Lewis family welcomes because of their forebear’s “mandate to share the island.” Visitors feel almost immediately that this place is special, but the why is elusive. Folklorist Charlie Groth explains Lewis Island’s unassuming cultural magic by developing the concept of “narrative stewardship,” a practice by which people take care of communal resources (in this case, river, shad, tradition, and community itself) through sharing stories. Anchored in over two decades of field research, this accessible ethnography interweaves the author’s observations as a crew member, stories from various tellers, interviews, history, and cultural theory. Beginning with thick description, the work explores four broad story types—Big Stories, character anecdotes, microlegends, and everyday storying. Groth traces how narratives intertwine with each other and with the physical environment to create sense of place, while participants in various roles navigate belonging. Ultimately, she posits the idea that in an era when telectronics have changed material conditions profoundly and quickly, echoing the way the industrial revolution led to anomie, narrative stewardship embedded in everyday life helps sustain culture and community.