How The Chesapeake Bay Scallop Is Making A Triumphant Return

"I guess they're right; apparently you do have to suffer for greatness," Ryan Croxton says, laughing through clenched teeth. The temperature outside is a brisk 40 degrees, but boating through a relentless, needling drizzle on Watts Bay off of Chincoteague Island, Virginia, it feels well below freezing. The only thing heated has been a debate about The Beatles between Ryan (pro Beatles) and his cousin Travis Croxton, co-owners of Rappahannock Oyster Company. But even that dwindles to disapproving grunts as the salt-soaked wind pummels them into stone-faced resignation.

The small boat, driven by family friend Eli Nichols, buzzes past ghostly duck blinds and, in the distance, a rocket launch pad from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. Entering Cockle Creek, Nichols cuts the engine and slows next to an avenue of floating cages. The trio pull on gloves and brave the icy waters, hauling up mesh cages with dozens of scallopshanging from the metal latticework. Travis plucks one from the interior and is examining its fan-shaped shell when his cell phone erupts, breaking the silence.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: Coastal Living