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More watermen sought for eco-tourism program

With native oyster and crab populations at near-century lows, Chesapeake Bay watermen are seeking more sustainable business models. And a program that gives watermen a chance to apply their unique set of skills in the tourism field is looking to attract more participants.

A new training session for workboat captains interested in being part of Virginia Watermen’s Heritage Tours will be held later this month in Gloucester County.

J.C. Hudgins of Mathews is one of the program’s certified captains. He has been operating a tour company since March 2015 from his deadrise “Risky Business II.” Hudgins, who has been fishing commercially since he was 8, said that life on the water runs in the family. Three generations of his family worked as schooner and tanker captains, as well as commercial crabbers, Hudgins said. His father, a Navy veteran, also played an important role in Hudgins’s growing up with a love for the water.

Hudgins splits his time harvesting crab...

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