OUTER BANKS SENTINEL | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2017 C1www.obsentinel.com

A FISHING LIFE

When Daniel Pullen was first asked by a local newspaper in 2011 to photo-graph Hatteras Island fishermen

after Hurricane Irene, he wasn’t sure what to expect. Pullen, a well-known Outer Banks photog-rapher who founded Pullen Art and Photog-raphy in the late 1990s, recalls that he had never been out on a fishing boat.

“Even though I was born in Buxton and have spent my whole life here, I grew up within the surf culture – not the fishing culture,” says Pullen, whose business provides a wide range of surf art and documentary, professional event and commercial photography.

The story’s focus back in 2011 was on Day at the Docks, which started in 2003 to cele-brate the spirit of Hatteras as the community rebuilt following Hurricane Isabel.

“The independent watermen were the first to go back to work and start pouring money into Hatteras Island again since tourism had been shut off,” explains Pullen.

Pullen’s first time out on the water with his camera was in a charter boat, but the next trip out with independent watermen Bob McBride and son Darrin is what really sparked Pullen into embarking on a multi-year project to not only document the stories of these Hatteras watermen, but to also be an advocate for them.

“I went out a few times that fall with differ-ent watermen and [the project] just kind of snowballed.” Now he’s a familiar face around the fish house on Hatteras Island and has

taken tens of thousands of photographs of in-dependent watermen — sharing their stories as part of his Hatteras Fisherman Project.

“When I rode out with Bob McBride that first time, they were pound netting and I had this preconceived notion of what it would be like. But it was just the complete opposite of a charter boat,” Pullen said, describing the humble 25-foot boat and skeleton crew of two.

“I started asking a lot of questions like, ‘Why are you throwing the fish back?’ And their answers that they were not in season or the right size led to more questions, and I started to hear about all the regulations. I was just drawn to these watermen.” Over the past six years of the project, Pullen has documented dog fishing, croaker fishing, crabbing and gill netting in both the

DANIEL PULLEN DOCUMENTS THE ‘ORIGINAL MARINE BIOLOGISTS’

Outer Banks seafOOd festival

The annual Outer Banks Seafood Festival at the Soundside Event Site

in Nags Head, provides a fun and educational experience that honors the region’s coastal seafood heritage and its community. The festival began in 2012 when the Outer Banks Chamber, the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, Outer Banks Catch and Outer Banks Restaurant Association came together in an effort to bring that heritage and history back to life for visitors and locals alike. The results have been amazing. The festival has more than a dozen local restaurants providing food and drink and features more than 50 arts and craft vendors, as well as non-profit groups. Live entertainment keeps the festival lively throughout the day with local favorites such as Out ‘n the Cold and Old Enough to Know Better.

Festivities begin at 10:30 a.m. Admission is $5 and children under the age of 12 are free with a paying adult. Tickets and seabucks for food

and beverages can be purchased online at outerbanksseafoodfestival.org or at the gate on the day of the

event. It is recommended that $10 to $20 seabucks are purchased

per person for food and drink.outerbanksseafoodfestival.org

OCT. 21, 2017 AT THE SOUNDSIDE EVENT SITE, IN NAGS HEAD

Acclaimed Hatteras Island photographer Daniel Pullen is an advocate for OBX

watermen.http://www.danielpul-lenphotography.com/

BY MICHELLE WAGNER | SENTINEL STAFF n PHOTOS BY DANIEL PULLEN

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

OUTER BANKS SEAFOOD GUIDE

DANIEL PULLEN PHOTOGRAPHY

Jeremy O‘Neil.

DANIEL PULLEN PHOTOGRAPHY

Rhomsey Alawar, left, with John Canning.

DANIEL PULLEN PHOTOGRAPHY

Claudia Peele.

Shrimp ranks number one in volume among seafoods consumed in the United States.

NCSEAGRANT.NCSU.EDU

North Carolina shrimp ranks second

of NC commercially harvested

species, both in pounds and in value.

FALL FISHING HAS ARRIVEDFishing Report from Jennette’s Pier

WWW.NCAQUARIUMS.COM/JENNETTES-PIER-FISHING-REPORT

Monday, Oct. 16: One 44” RED DRUM and a SEA MULLET this morning. Beautiful sunshine, wind WSW 10 mph. Small, clean swell remnants, water temp 72 degrees.

Sunday, Oct. 15: The sun is out and fish are biting! SEA MULLET, small SPECKELD TROUT, BLACK DRUM, POMPANO and CROAKER. Water temp 72 degrees.

Saturday, Oct.14: Perfect conditions for big RED DRUM but nothing yet. Blustery, cloudy and raining morning. Water temp holding at 72 degrees. About 15 bull DRUM were caught and released yesterday.

Friday, Oct. 13: Twelve big RED DRUM, a keeper PUPPY DRUM, CROAKER, SEA MULLET, SPOT, BLACK DRUM, BLUEFISH and some small SPECKLED TROUT. Gray skies, wind N 25-35 mph. Large, sloppy swell building in quickly, water temp 72 degrees.

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Sustainable harvest means we will enjoy seafood today and in the future. Fishery management plans provide strategies for long-term viability of species listed here.

This chart is based on past landings of the top 12 species in the northern coastal region of North Carolina. Species availability is subject to changing regulations and environmental conditions.

Compiled by Stephanie McInerny, N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries; and Barry Nash, North Carolina Sea Grant.Illustrations by John Norton • • 919-515-2454 • UNC-SG-14-07A

N.C. Seafood Availability: North SPECIES J F M A M J J A S O N D

Tilefish

Flounder

Mahi-mahi (Dolphinfish)

Blue Crab, Soft

Blue Crab, Hard

Striped Bass

Oyster

Sea Bass

Tuna

Shrimp

Sea Trout, Spotted

Swordfish

North Carolina

S U S T A I N A B L E F I S H E R I E S

Sustainable harvest means we will enjoy seafood today and in the future. Fishery management plans provide strategies for long-term viability of species listed here.

This chart is based on past landings of the top 12 species in the northern coastal region of North Carolina. Species availability is subject to changing regulations and environmental conditions.

For more information, visit: ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/seafood.

Compiled by Stephanie McInerny, N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries; and Barry Nash, North Carolina Sea Grant.Illustrations by John Norton • www.ncseagrant.org • 919-515-2454 • UNC-SG-14-07A

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ONSLOW

BRUNSWICK

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CRAVEN

CARTER

ET

NE

W H

AN

OV

ER

HYDE

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DARE

TYRRELL

BEAUFORT

HERTFORD

CAMD

EN

WASHINGTON

CH

OW

AN

PER

QU

IMAN

S

CURRITUCK

PASQ

UO

TAN

K

NC Coastal Counties

NORTH

SOUTH

SOUTH

NORTH

Selecting North Carolina SeafoodNC SEAFOOD AVAILABILITY: NORTH

NCSEAGRANT.NCSU.EDU/PROGRAM-AREAS/EDUCATION-TRAINING/CONSUMER-AWARENESS/

Availability by seafood type, region. This chart is based on past landings of the top 12 species in the northern coastal region of North Carolina

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sound and ocean. “These guys are so in tune with the weather, the tides, the seasons. They are stigmatized as not caring about the environment. But they love nature and want the environment taken care of. They depend on it.” Eventually Pullen hopes to turn his project into a book and expand it. “I want to be an advocate, a voice for these watermen. They have a story many never get to see. They are the experts in their field – the original marine biologists.”

Pullen fits working on his project in with his regular photography business, his next project being to photograph Spanish mackerel fishing. He says he has a long list of watermen he still wants to photo-graph, particularly the older genera-tion. “There’s a whole generation passing away that I need to photo-graph.”

“It’s been a learning experience for me and it give me a way to be a voice for them, so that they can con-tinue to fish,” said Pullen, referenc-ing the mounting regulations that

make it more and more difficult to make a living in the industry.

“I had no clue about the fishing culture,” he continued. “I even had to ask the guys what type of fish they had. But it was a good way to start the project. I didn’t have any preconceived notions and in the long run, it has helped my photog-raphy. It took me out of my comfort zone.” While Pullen says his proj-ect has primarily been Hatteras-cen-tric, he plans to expand it to include other small fishing villages in North Carolina. “I want to widen the scope so I can be a voice for independent watermen and provide the imagery so people can see that these are the people they are supporting when buying local seafood. It’s not the massive corporations, but the small families.”

And after time on the water, listening to and documenting their stories, Pullen sees the urgency in more advocacy for these watermen, who he says are coming under in-creasing fire with more regulations and outside groups.

“It’s trying to be taken away from them,” he observes.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

A FISHING LIFE

DANIEL PULLEN PHOTOGRAPHY

Tony Burbank.