Below is an email I received from the NC Pier Fishing Society concerning the vanishing piers along the Carolina coast. Interesting, good read.
Here is what I sent to a number of newspapers along the coast. The OBX Sentinnel ran it.
Save piers and other public access
As the Waterfront Access Study Committee (WASC) readies its final report on the waterfront diversity, the rest of us need to stop and take an inventory of actions that we ourselves can identify to preserve public access to the ocean.
The purpose of WASC is to produce a report and make recommendations to the Joint Commission on Seafood and Aquaculture, the Marine Fisheries Commission and the Coastal Resources Commission. They clearly have a huge task before them. Those of us who are staunch proponents of public access are on the edge our seats waiting for the report.
However, because of the scope of their assignment and the limited time they had to plunge deeply into the problems of waterfront access, we should not rely solely on the Commission to provide every solution. Instead, we should be looking for solutions closer to home. The first step is for coastal communities and counties to realize that that time is the enemy in the battle to stop access erosion. They must join access advocates in recognizing that we are all now at a coastal access tipping point.
In lieu of state action through the Commission, what can be done? The answer is plenty. For instance: why not initiate action to save our coastal piers while the pier is still luring fisherman instead of waiting for housing developers to take the bait? Why not act to protect those that stay in operation to preserve waterfront access before lucrative business decisions dictate the loss of access?
Counties and communities need to see this land as more than just a tax source. One pier owner told me that his county almost tripled his taxes for 2007. Additionally, because he purchased the Blanket Saltwater Fishing License for the pier as a means to keep the novice and casual fisherman as a customer, he added even more costs to his balance sheet. While a savvy business decision, it also detracts from his bottom line. The fact is his first 3000 or so permits sold on that pier are earmarked to recoup these taxes. The net result: an already small profit margin will be a lot smaller this year.
What is needed? A genuine understanding of the value of public access--among access owners and state and local agencies--would be a start. How could this relationship be fashioned while we await the Commission's report? Why not have days when all state and local officials grab fishing rods and join the coastal community angling from their local pier instead of casting lines from within the halls of government? It's good business and a nice photo opportunity--plus it will reinforce the necessity to preserve access.
Public access to the waterfront is everyone's business. So, as the time ticks away as we await the Commission's official report, we can be comforted that we are meeting the challenge head-on. We have our marching orders to go out and inventory what each of us can do to ensure that our children can enjoy the same waterfront access we have grown to love.
AL BAIRD, Founder of the North Carolina Fishing Pier Society, Fort Mill, SC
Spent many good days fishing there.
