COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Oregon Inlet 

 Jetty Project 

 Called Off 



federal agencies will not 

 proceed with the proposed 

 Oregon Inlet navigational plan 

 that included building giant rock 

 jetties on both sides of the inlet. 



By discontinuing the 

 project, the White House Council 

 on Environmental Quality, the 

 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

 and the Interior and Commerce 

 departments expect to resolve a 30-year controversy over the jetty project. 



Instead of the jetties, the Corps will improve the current 1 4-foot navigational channel. The Corps 

 also will work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to enhance boat 

 safety by providing more up-to-date navigational data on changing sand conditions in the channel. 



In 1970, Congress authorized the project that included the Corps dredging the 20-foot by 

 400-foot navigation channel to accommodate deep-draft fishing boats and construction of two 

 large jetties to divert sand from the channel. 



Oregon Inlet is the only barrier island break in the northern part of the Outer Banks, 

 providing access for boats between the Atlantic Ocean and the Albemarle-Pamlico Sound. The 

 project was supported by the commercial fishing community but opposed by some environmen- 

 tal groups and government agencies. 



Over the past three decades, the Corps has conducted numerous economic and environmental 

 analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act. NOAA opposed the project because of a 

 potentially significant impact on the area's already diminished fisheries. 



In addition, two Interior Department agencies — the National Park Service and U.S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service — expressed concern over potential erosion of the Cape Hatteras National 

 Seashore and the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. — A.G. 



Cape Lookout Lighthouse 

 Gets New Owner 



l~br years, the U.S. Coast Guard kept the lights bright at the Cape 

 Lookout Lighthouse. 



In June, the lighthouse got a new caretaker — and a new stamp from 

 the U.S. Postal Service. 



During a ceremony, the ownership of the lighthouse was transferred 

 from the Coast Guard to the National Park Service. 



"This will be more than a transfer of ownership from one govern- 

 ment agency to another," says Cape Lookout National Park superinten- 

 dent Bob Vogel. "The Coast Guard has taken good care of the lighthouse. 

 Now, we want to restore it and make it available for generations to come." 



A nonprofit group called the Friends of Cape Lookout National 

 Seashore has been formed to support the park service's effort to preserve 

 the lighthouse. 



The lighthouse will be administered as part of Cape Lookout 

 National Seashore that stretches over 56 miles of coastline along North 

 Carolina's Outer Banks. For more information about the lighthouse, call 

 252/728-2250 or visit the Web at www.nps.gov/calo. — A.G. 



Blue Crabs Lead 

 N.C. Commercial 

 Species in 2002 



The North Carolina fishing 

 community brought more seafood to the 

 docks in 2002, but made fewer trips to 

 catch finfish, crabs, shrimp and shellfish, 

 according to the N.C. Division of Marine 

 Fisheries (DMF). 



Commercial fishers landed 1 60 million 

 pounds offish and shellfish at Tar Heel 

 docks, with the catch valued at $94.6 

 million. Total landings were up 22.9 million 

 pounds from 2001 , but fell slightly below 

 the previous five-year average of 1 70 million 

 pounds. The top commercial species was 

 blue crabs — valued at $29.3 million — 

 followed by shrimp at $1 8.3 million. 



Blue crab landings increased by 

 6 million pounds from 2001 , but they 

 continue to be well below the 47.8 

 million-pound average for the previous 

 five years. The largest increase was in the 

 Albemarle Sound, while crab landings for 

 the rest of the state remained unchanged 

 from previous years. 



The total seafood catch increased 

 in 2002. But effort dropped by 31 ,024 

 fishing trips. The bulk of the decline came 

 from the blue crab fishery, which fell by 

 1 5,000 trips from the previous year. 



To find out more about the 2002 

 harvest figures, visit the DMF Web site: 

 www.ncfisheries.net at 252/726-7021 . — A.G. 



COASTWATCH 5 



