ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a sketch of some of the values and experiences that appear central to the watermen's self-conception, drawing on recent interviews and focus-group meetings in Calvert and St. Mary's counties. It provides some understanding of how the watermen see themselves, what they cherish in their work, and how they understand the forces that threaten it. Combining ethnography with environmental ethics, the chapter examines whether the differences in perspective and lifestyle between watermen and the dominant culture are really as large, and whether certain legislative and regulatory strategies are appropriate for preserving what is truly distinctive in their way of life. Finally, greater efforts at pollution control offer the possibility of enhancing the productivity of the Chesapeake Bay, and of restoring some of the abundance that figured so prominently in the watermen's attachment to the environment of their youth.
