(upbeat music) - Along North Carolina's Outer Banks, the Atlantic is more than a backdrop.

It's part of everyday life.

At Jennette's Pier in Nags Head, visitors can experience it firsthand as the ocean itself becomes the classroom.

Mike, what's the name of this aquarium and where are we located?

- Sure, well, you're sitting on the top porch at Jennette's Pier in Nags Head, North Carolina, right on the Atlantic Ocean.

We consider ourselves a marine education center, a platform for ocean research and observing, and of course, a public fishing pier.

Jennette's Pier dates back originally to 1939 and it was in private hands for about 60 years.

- The Aquarium Society purchased the property in 2002, but less than a year later, Hurricane Isabel nearly destroyed the original pier.

In the years that followed, plans took shape for the Jennette's Pier we see today.

- Fishing piers traditionally along the North Carolina Coast were social gathering spots.

So for the last eight decades, people have been coming to some version of Jennette's Pier, meeting with friends, making new friends, talking about things, all while enjoying the beautiful environment.

[waves crashing] - [Dustin] All right, everybody, welcome to family fishing.

- [Mike) Every weekday of the summer, we offer family fishing programs to teach people who have never experienced fishing on the oceanfront how it's done.

We have great instructors.

They make things easy for you.

We provide everything you need, the bait, the rods, the education.

- We can go head out there and get started.

Touch the pelican for good luck.

Flounder, keep it -- - It's always such a family-friendly atmosphere, and the kids just, no matter what we're doing, the kids have a great time.

So they offer so many great programs.

They offer summer camps that our kids do every year.

- Oh, and Calla's got a fish.

- The teachers here are wonderful, the educators.

I mean, there's just so many great things about Jennette's that makes it a part of our community.

- Good job!

I love it!

- Every summer, I usually do two or three camps of these, and it's really fun.

The counselors are really, really nice, and I'm good friends with them.

- Can you touch him?

- It's very exciting.

Fish are really cute in my opinion.

- They are pretty cute.

- Yeah.

- I'm getting something, I think.

I thought I felt it, I got it!

Look, I got a fish!

Dustin, help the girl!

(cheering) He's little, but I got him!

- All right, so we're gonna take him over.

- Oh my goodness.

- So I usually hold towards the belly because it's a little bit spiky up here, you see that?

And then these are circle hooks, so you just kind of rotate them out.

- Do I throw him back in, Dustin?

- Yes, ma'am.

- Okay, I'll be very gentle.

- Just drop him like... - Oh, he talked!

- And that's why they're called pig fish, they oink.

- He did oink!

- What do you like about fishing?

- The excitement you get when you catch a fish, and the relief you get when you drop the fish.

(upbeat music with chatter) - There you go.

- Dustin!

- All right, you can reel yours up, buddy.

I can see you don't have bait.

- There's no bait on this line.

- I lost my bait.

- I'm here.

- Dustin!

- I got another one, Dustin!

No, don't go away!

- I'm right here.

- Dustin!

- I got ya!

- Yes, sir.

Oh, got a double?

- They've got him running now!

Dustin is running!

These fish are biting!

- My girls both love him.

All of the kids love him, and all the other educators, but he's definitely such a bright light here at the aquarium.

- I think any time I get to see a kid catch their first fish, some of these kids don't have access to this, and just getting them to catch their first fish, it's always fun and exciting.

I've been fishing my whole life, and as a kid, that was a way I got to see like new little critters, stuff like that.

Still every day out here, you get to see new stuff.

- There's a shark!

- As part of the North Carolina Aquariums, we're first and foremost a conservation organization.

So you have access to this beautiful natural resource, and what we want to encourage is preserving that natural resource.

So we really focus on ethical angling.

Certain types of hooks, circle hooks used instead of J hooks, 'cause it doesn't injure the fish as much.

Getting it back into the water as quickly as possible, and only taking what you're gonna eat that night, so that those fish can produce more fish, and there's fish for our children and grandchildren going forward.

- Treat it well, treat it like you want to be treated, 'cause we are pulling them out of their environment, and to me, this is environmental education.

It's to understand what's out there.

- That's a really good lesson to learn.

It's not just about your recreation and your enjoyment, but really caring about the environment and wildlife here.

- That's exactly what we hope to instill in everyone that comes to Jennette's Pier.

(gentle music) - One of the biggest things we did recently was we upgraded all of our exterior lighting here at the pier to wildlife-friendly lighting.

What that means is it's amber color, so it doesn't negatively impact the natural behaviors of, for example, sea turtles, bats, birds, insects, and it's actually better for people as well, and it creates a beautiful ambiance.

Generations of families have returned to this place over the last 80 years.

I think that says a lot about it not just being a place to enjoy fishing, but it's a place where people make memories, make lifetime friendships, and come back.

♪ - Jennette's Pier is located at 7223 South Virginia Dare Trail in Nags Head.

For more information about its hours and offerings, visit ncaquariums.com/jennettes-pier.