Source: Jack Igelman, CAROLINA PUBLIC PRESS, 9/14/21


Editor’s note: This article is part 2 of 5 of the series Changing Tides, which was produced in part through the support of the Pulitzer Center.

The alarm goes off at 3 a.m., and Cole Gibbs, the 21-year-old first mate of the commercial fishing vessel the Salvation, crawls out of bed and pulls a “Make America Fish Again” cap over his shaggy strawberry-blond mop. He hops in his car and drives more than an hour from his home in Elizabeth City to Wanchese, a close-knit fishing community on Roanoke Island. Despite the early mornings and long hours, Gibbs loves the work. After several stints on large commercial fishing boats, he prefers to spend his time aboard the Salvation, a 32-foot daytrip boat fishing the Atlantic off the Outer Banks.

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