Capt. Merritt Watson

Capt. Merritt O. Watson, Sr., photo by Ben Casey

When you think about Goose Creek Island fishermen, just about every person you know or remember has some connection to the creeks, river, and sound.  Whether it is crabbing, shrimping, oystering, or fishing, all the seasons on Goose Creek Island supply us with an abundance of seafood. 

There are a great many commercial fishermen who work in and about Pamlico Sound, but Capt Merritt Watson Sr. is one of those fishermen who loved everything about being on the water.  Born in 1912 in Lowland to Kelly and Ada Watson, Capt. Merritt began his work on the water at a young age.  His daddy, Kelly Watson, started the first seafood business in Lowland around 1932 and Capt. Merritt ran the long haul fishing operation for the business.

 Capt. Merritt eventually ventured out into the Atlantic Ocean with the Mary Jane, named after his wife Mary Jane Ireland.  Later he built the Gladys Irene, an 87 foot steel haul trawler, that was renowned not only for the bountiful catches she brought aboard, but for it beautiful carpentry inside.  The Gladys Irene and Capt. Merritt were known up and down the Atlantic Seaboard as a “highliner” boat.  Many commercial fishermen who fish today learned their trade from Capt. Merritt on the Mary Jane and the Gladys Irene. Whether fishing near Hatteras or up near Long Island, they learned to work and to work hard with Capt. Merritt at the helm.

Never one to forget his roots, Capt. Merritt may have spent a lifetime up and down the Atlantic Seaboard, but his love for home and family on Goose Creek Island remained strong.  Even in his retirement, he never really retired.  He was always one to be toiling in the sound on his “little” boat the Miss Watson II, repairing a net, working on an engine, cutting some wood down at his saw mill, or lending a hand to a fellow fisherman or neighbor.  During my youth, there were not many times that I didn’t see Capt. Merritt without a pair of oil skins on.  It was almost like it was part of his normal dressing routine.

Capt. Merritt Watson certainly witnessed his share of triumphs and tragedies during his lifetime of working on the water.  He pursued a way of life that is slowly declining in a sea of bureaucracy and regulation.  But we can be rest assured, that if Capt. Merritt were here with us today, he would be down at the landing getting the Miss Watson II ready to go out shrimping.