A Pioneer Son at Sea

A celebrated marine biologist vividly recounts his early experiences fishing both coasts of the Florida peninsula during the Great Depression and World War II. Outsized personalities inhabit these pages—crackers, conchs, now-legendary charterboatmen, Greek spongers, and Cuban vivero captains.

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Long before tourism dominated Florida’s coastline, the state was home to dozens of commercial fisheries and ethnically diverse communities of rugged individuals who made their living from the sea.

In A Pioneer Son at Sea, a celebrated marine biologist vividly recounts his early experiences fishing both coasts of the peninsula during the Great Depression and World War II. Here are vanished scenes from old Florida: gill-netting for mackerel off Jupiter, the early days of charterboat fishing for sailfish out of Stuart and Boynton, the snapper fleet at Carrabelle, sponge-diving at Tarpon Springs, the oyster fishery at Crystal River, and mullet fishing from airboats at Flamingo.

Outsized personalities inhabit these pages—crackers, conchs, now-legendary charterboatmen, Greek spongers, and Cuban vivero captains. These portraits of a bygone era are also remarkable tales of formative chapters in the life of a scientist who later worked tirelessly to preserve our dwindling marine resources.