On April 2, 1759 a letter was penned that would rock the botanical world: the first documented description of the Venus flytrap. Tales of this tiny green predator from the pine savannahs of Southeastern North Carolina would sweep throughout Europe. Join Shannon Walker, curator of...
Ranked among the fiercest pirates from the “Golden Age of Piracy,” Anne Bonny and Mary Read have stories that daytime TV could only aspire to. Join Associate Education Curator Christine Brin in the museum auditorium to learn about these women pirates. She will trace what is...
An upcoming presentation at the museum will focus on the work by a team to document the existence and importance of right whales, as well as their plight, off our state’s coast. North Atlantic Right Whale aerial observers with the Clearwater (Fla.) Marine Aquarium Research Institute...
For generations, North Carolina’s oyster industry was underdeveloped. This changed in the late 19th century when North Carolina oyster beds attracted attention following overharvesting in the Chesapeake Bay and the nation’s insatiable appetite for oysters. By the late 1880s, North Carolina oystermen and fish dealers...
The menhaden industry of North Carolina, which began in 1865 and ended in 2005, is one of the State’s most thoroughly documented fisheries. Unfortunately, the industry’s origins have never been thoroughly explored. Due to a reliance on two primary sources, scholars have assumed that there...
North Carolina’s shrimp industry slowly emerged in the Lower Cape Fear region during the 19th century. However, it did not take-off until the years leading up to World War I when Scandinavian immigrants introduced the otter trawl to Brunswick County. Following the introduction of the...
Today we might imagine saltwater sport fishing in North Carolina as one where sport fishers pursue large sailfish and marlin offshore aboard fiberglass sport fishing boats. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, recreational fishermen could only dream of catching such fish. Instead, recreational fishermen...
Plantations that bordered coastal North Carolina’s creeks, rivers, and sounds often possessed fisheries that were operated by both free and enslaved peoples. While a few studies have provided some insights into the functioning of these fisheries, no one has analyzed labor management at them. Drawing...
A new event at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort will give parents the freedom to enjoy a long-time cookoff while their children are kept engaged and supervised right across the street. Museum Under the Stars debuts Jan. 20 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at...
Join Harriet Altman of Plastic Free by the Sea for a showing and discussion of Coastal Carolina Riverwatch's "Tidal Alert: The State of Water Quality and Its Impacts on Coastal Fisheries." The program is part of America's Boating Club of the Crystal Coast's free seminar...