Present
Though the river no longer has any steamers and cargo ships floating down it, it still carries hundreds of boats per year. It is a popular fishing spot. Tobacco farming continues on agricultural land. While fishkills were a bigger problem around the year 2000, state authorities still warn against eating the river's shellfish. Though the river still faces some environmental problems, it is a beautiful tidal river that supports a variety of aquatic species. It is linked to the history of thousands of years of human settlement, from the earliest indigenous peoples, through the Tuscarora and later European and American settlers. ==See also==