Secrets of the James

The Edible James: A Thanksgiving List

by Gabe Silver, Environmental Educator

When folks stop by our place for dinner, I love to feed them from the James River. In the past year I can count five meals all made possible by our beloved river:

1. Fish Cakes of home-canned Hickory Shad
2. Broiled Rockfish Fillet
3. Blue Catfish Fish Tacos
4. Braised Canada Goose Breast
5. Pan-fried White Perch

This short list doesn’t begin to do our magnificent river justice. The James River has been feeding human beings for many thousands of years. Today we need to dig into history and pre-history to capture the full cornucopia the river represents. This November, as an exercise of focused thanks giving, I set out to uncover some of the ways the James has and still can feed us, the brainy omnivore populating its banks.

Disregarding the ways the river supports agriculture through irrigation and fertile flood plains, and its provision of hydration to livestock and wild game, we will focus our hunt on those organisms that live in close association with the James’ waters. We will look towards the experts on these matters by way of consulting the Virginia Indian diet, and then work forward from there.

John Smith reported nearly thirty aquatic species in his Map of Virginia  of 1612: “Of fish we were best acquainted with Sturgeon, Grampus, Porpus, Seales, Stingraies…brettes, mullets, white Salmonds, Trowts, Soles, Plaice, Herrings, Conyfish, Rockfish, Eeles, Lampreyes, Catfish, Shades, Pearch of 3 sorts, Crabs, Shrimps, Crayfish, Oysters, Cocles and Muscles.” Virginia Indians undoubtedly would have been skilled at capturing and preparing most of the animals on this list. Perhaps even more central to their diet was the tuckahoe root of the arrow arum plant, which “growth like a flagge in low muddy freshes. In one day a Savage will gather sufficient for a weeke. These rootes are much of the greatness and taste of Potatoes.” Other edible marsh plants likely used by the natives were wild rice, swamp rose, cattails, water-lilies, great bulrush, sweetflag and pickerelweed, to name but a few.

Since the arrival of European and African peoples to Virginia in the early 1600s, the James has been fished and hunted in a more concentrated fashion. Certain species came to represent important economic resources and were, in many cases, overharvested. Atlantic sturgeon were captured by the colonists for food and for export as one of the first “cash crops” sent back to Europe.  Oysters growing in huge reefs colonized much of the lower James. Many oyster beds across the Chesapeake would come to rely on the healthy colonies of James River oysters for seed “spat,” or young oysters, for planting into less naturally productive areas. Populations of American shad and striped bass or rockfish supported Virginia’s fishing industry and were staples familiar to many family dinner tables.  Clams, mussels, eels, numerous other fish species, as well as ducks and geese, rounded out the menu harvested for centuries on the James.

Today one can play hunter-gatherer on the James, catching and eating certain native fish as well as introduced species such as large- and smallmouth bass. Unfortunately, many areas polluted by industrial activity remain under an advisory from the Virginia Department of Health that limits the types and amount of fish that should be eaten from those waters. Also, several species which in the past were harvested too liberally now must be returned to the water unharmed if caught. These sad notes help remind us to fight for clean water and scientifically-informed fisheries regulation. They also inspire us to celebrate the success of species like the rockfish whose populations recover when intelligent regulation is enacted to protect them.

The James River gives us so much more than the meals we have harvested from it over the centuries, but for this bounty alone we find reason for thanks giving this holiday season. I imagine a half-starved Jamestown colonist feasting on sturgeon at the end of a hard winter, and hope that I can appreciate my sustenance with the same zest and gratitude today.

We would love to hear about memorable meals you have harvested from the James. Email Gabe at gsilver@jrava.org

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