Dredging inlet keeps fishing fleets afloat
The fishing industry is big business in Barnegat Light; dredging the inlet is vital.
July 2007 - BARNEGAT LIGHT — Every day, hundreds of boaters push through Barnegat Inlet, most giving no more than a cursory glance at an onboard depth finder as they cruise to or from port.
This safe passage is possible largely because of an ongoing effort by the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge and maintain one of the busiest and most profitable inlets in the country.
The work falls squarely on the shoulders of Capt. Ed Evans and his crew on the hopper dredge Currituck, a 150-foot, sand-pumping behemoth built by Ellicott Dredges that works periodically throughout the year to maintain an ideal channel depth of 16 feet.
"This is one of the more important inlets we do," said Evans, who started dredging waterways with the corps in 1980 and has worked on projects from Maine to Florida.
Steering the hulking Currituck away from its dock at Viking Village and toward the inlet Tuesday, Evans and crew were about halfway through a 40-day stay, dredging in the shadow of the Ol' Barney lighthouse.
For 12 hours a day, seven days a week, Evans and his crew steer the hopper dredge and its two vacuumlike pumps across the 300-foot-wide federal channel. The Currituck can fill its 315-cubic-yard hold to capacity in less than 30 minutes.
Once on board, the fill is taken to designated unload zones between 100 and 200 yards from shore. With the press of a button, the boat's clamlike, hinged hold opens and drops a 390-ton payload on the ocean floor.
"It's pretty simple, really. Just like a big dump truck," said Wildon Davis, the ship's second mate.
Evans and his crew of six, all seamen from Wilmington, N.C., operate the Currituck year-round. Other dredging projects include Manasquan Inlet, Cape Cod and the Outer Banks in their home state. But for more than two decades they have returned regularly to Barnegat Inlet.
"There's a lot of tax dollars spent here through the years, and you can't just walk away from that," Evans said.
This year, the federal budget included $450,000 for the Currituck to operate and maintain the channel. That buys about a month of work, Evans said, but a proposed insertion in the 2008 federal budget could keep the dredge around for as long as eight months next year.
Just before Evans and crew finished their work at 6 p.m. Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved the 2008 Energy and Water Appropriations bill. In it is more than $2 million for maintenance of the channel linking Barnegat Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.
"Barnegat Inlet has a notorious reputation on the East Coast as being a very volatile inlet, and the depth of the channel is extremely important," said Jeff Sagnip, spokesman for Rep. Jim Saxton, R-N.J., who fought for the increased funding.
The final House appropriation dwarfs the $54,000 included by President Bush's initial budget plans. Though the bill must still pass muster in the Senate, Sagnip said it is likely the corps will see increased funding next year.
Those who depend on safe passage through the inlet say the boost is not only worthwhile, but necessary.
"Before they (the corps) started coming here, this inlet was a mess," said Pete Dolan, a captain who started running commercial fishing boats out of Viking Village more than 20 years ago.
"We lost boats and people died," he said.
The problem lies in the specific geography of the area that causes large sand shoals to gather quickly over time. The result is a constant "shallowing" of the water that makes passage for large ships dangerous, said Jim Gutowski, a longtime Barnegat Light captain.
"There's certain spots where the tide will flow and make these high spots that (the corps) needs to run down to make it safe for us," Gutowski said.
Dolan skippers the scalloper Ms. Manyan, one of the biggest in Viking Village's 35-vessel fleet. He says the work performed by Evans and crew is invaluable.
"I draw 10 feet of water and I never have to worry. I just show up and go to work," he said.
Keeping fishermen safe is undoubtedly a motivating factor for continued dredging, but the economic factors surrounding Viking Village and the surrounding marinas cannot be discounted. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, Viking Village alone accounted for $25.5 million in 2006.
That impact jumps by a factor of four when the journey from hook to dinner table is fully examined, says Gary DiDomenico, executive director of the Garden State Seafood Association.
"Someone has to buy it wholesale, then retail or at a restaurant. That's a lot of jobs and money," DiDomenico said. "That port is a major, major operation."
Posted by the Ashbury Park Press on 7-18-07 • Photo by Peter Ackerman
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