Buddy Twiford
1st GENERATION FISHERMAN
LANDS AT Manteo, NC
CATCHES Shrimp
“I couldn’t stay off that water even if I wanted to.”
Buddy Twiford has more than forty years of commercial fishing under his belt. One of the biggest changes Buddy has seen in the industry is the change in how people perceive him. In a thick high tider accent, he explains, “When I started fishing in 1975, I was proud to tell people what I did. Now, when I tell people I’m a fisherman they cut me a bad eye. They think I’m killing all the sea turtles.”
Buddy knows how important conservation is to the commercial fishing industry. Over the years, he’s had to make adjustments in what he can target as a result of environmental and regulatory changes. “I am mostly shrimping now… in years past, I’ve made it through to Thanksgiving and then we can usually go do something else, but they’ve taken so much away from us that we got nothing else, really. It’s just the good Lord that saved us with the shrimping.”
Despite this frustration, Buddy is proud of the past four decades of hard work. He’s supported his family, including his four grandchildren. When asked if he plans to retire to spend more time with his grandchildren, he laughs. “I couldn’t stay off that water even if I wanted to.”
