August 12, 2025 — The tourists come from Pennsylvania and Maryland, from South Dakota and Texas, from just about everywhere, to North Carolina’s Outer Banks for a week of sun, water and relaxation.
And when they need something to do, Marc Mtchum is there to give them a glimpse of “the real Outer Banks.” Mitchum, 62 and the owner of OBX Crabbing, runs three shrimping charters each weekday from mid-June into October on the Jodie Kae to supplement his commercial crabbing business.
“That’s why people come on my trip,” he said. “They want to get real fresh seafood, [to] take back to their cottage and eat, or [if] they’re fortunate enough, take some home to eat.”
Mitchum continued: “My group here was from Wisconsin and they don’t get good seafood in Wisconsin, so they come here, they go on my boat, and they’ve got plenty to eat. We take people from all over the United States to come here to experience how a commercial fisherman makes a living and then take home that seafood.”
Mitchum, originally from Chatham County, moved to the Outer Banks in 1984 for a career in fishing. The sound provided for his family. He and his wife, a Dare County educator, sent their four children to college.
“It’s been a good life,” Mitchum said. “My concern is not so much for me, it’s for these younger guys that are trying to fish. I’m glad my sons don’t want to fish because I think it’s going to be harder and harder – mainly because of government regulation, not because of a lack of a resource. The sound is so plentiful of fish, shrimp and crabs.”
The state, however, canceled the annual flounder season in 2024 due to concerns about over-fishing. This year’s season lasts just two weeks with a maximum of one fish of at least 15 inches.