Viewing Time: 12 minutes. Start with the shot of the sign at Buck's store. End with the scene of the waterman in the shed tallying the count. The man is seen in the window of the shed.

Buck Rowe says life has changed in Guinea since his father opened the store in 1920. In 1950, the Coleman bridge between Gloucester and Yorktown was built.

Dave explains that the rapid development of the area has caused difficulties for the seafood industry. Pollution, shellfish disease, loss of habitat had almost wiped out the oysters. The State regulatory body, the Virginia Marine Resource Commission, closed the harvest completely to let the oysters repopulate.

Some of the watermen felt that closing the river was the wrong thing to do. It caused hardships for the watermen. The men on the commission didn't know the river as well as the watermen. There were oysters that needed to be harvested. (This discussion continues after the footage of the Kellums' boat.)

In spite of the difficulties, Billy Kellum and his step-son, Derek, are building a deadrise workboat by hand. The boat measures 47 'long, 14'6" wide, 13'4" at the stern, with a deadrise of 40". They plan to use it for clamming. Billy doesn't have any plans to follow while making the boat. He knows how to make it without writing everything down. He thinks the wooden boat has more personality than a fiberglass one, and is also stronger.

Buck sees employment as the problem. Jobs are scarce now. There used to be more watermen. There aren't many oysters, crabs, or clams. There has been regulation of the industry since the mid 1800s. Regulations include: licensing, limited fishing season, restrictions on the types of gear and the size of the seafood caught, quotas on the amount of seafood, and reporting requirements. Watermen have always objected to the government's meddling in the details of how they make their living. The resentment now is particularly bitter.

The watermen organized to prove to the commission and the media that the thick beds of oysters needed to be worked. They were successful and the commission overturned their decision and reopened the James River. (Old footage of the area follows this statement.)

Ronnie and Linda Crewe discuss regulation with Ray. Ray thinks they should leave everything alone the way it was. He didn't think there were any problems before. Ronnie and Linda feel the regulation had to happen. Tommy thinks the best thing for the watermen to do is get involved and have their voices heard. Ray says, "The Man upstairs has got all to do with working on the water. If He wants, it's gonna be. If not, it's not."

There are now more oysters than anyone remembers seeing for the last twenty years. However, there used to be about 150 market boats, and now there is just one.

Ask the students to share what they know about the current problems with the marine life in the Chesapeake Bay. Tell them this section of the video discusses the problems the watermen are having. Encourage them to listen to find out how the various people feel, and what is being done to solve the problem. Write the vocabulary words on the board. Read the contextual sentences aloud to students and help them determine the meaning of the words. Encourage them to listen for the vocabulary words in the video.

Distribute copies of the Video Note-Taking Form. Explain that the students will individually take brief notes or draw pictures on the left side of the page either during or immediately after watching the video. Suggest that they jot down key terms, names, dates, and any questions they may have. Notes should be taken in sequential order.

Show the second section of the video.

After Viewing

After watching the video, have students work in previously established small groups to extend each other's information. Students may want to take turns reading their individual notes aloud or showing their pictures so that other members of the group can add information they may have missed. All new information should be recorded on the right hand side of the Video Note-Taking Form.

Meet with the whole class and then develop the post-graphic organizer to summarize key points from this section of the video. Help students identify the major topics. At this point, you may wish to re-play the video tape or continue on with other activities.