Coastal visitors also are seeing changes, as fewer marinas and fishing piers 

 are available for the public. 



'The public's demand for seafood and access is growing, yet the 

 opportunities are diminishing," says Barbara Garrity-Blake, a Gloucester 

 resident anthropologist and a member of the N.C. Marine Fisheries 

 Commission. "The access issue on waterfronts is a critical challenge that state 

 officials need to address." 



Mathis, who refers to himself as a "farmer of the sea," says he is living 

 proof that with a few adaptations, fishing provides a viable living. He expanded 

 his two-boat business into Runners Seafood, a retail and wholesale facility on 

 N.C. 24 in Bogue Township. 



"I did not put it on the waterfront, mind you, due to commercial property 

 costs," he adds. 



NEW REGULATIONS 



As waterfronts are attracting new uses, North Carolina has changed some 

 regulations. For example, the state's Coastal Resources Commission recently 

 has modified coastal buffer restrictions for urban 

 waterfronts. 



Urban waterfront parcels must be within the 

 corporate limits of a municipality in one of the 

 state's 20 coastal counties, and, in particular, within 

 a centra] business district with urban services. 



The rules now allow for urban waterfront 

 development to take place over the water 

 and within 30 feet of the water's edge, as 

 long as certain criteria are met according to 

 Doug Huggett, the N.C. Division of Coastal 

 Management (DCM) major permit coordinator. 



"Urban waterfronts have structures like fish 

 houses over the water" Huggett says. 



"In most cases, the state doesn't allow 

 redevelopment of structures that extend over state- 

 owned waters, but can allow such redevelopment 

 along urban waterfronts." 



In Morehead City, Brady has a Coastal Area 

 Management Act (CAMA) permit to construct 

 a retail/residential building. "I don't have an 

 immediate timetable for this project" he adds. 



Brady bought the market in 1980. He closed 

 the seafood business and restaurant in 2003, citing dramatic changes in the business from the 

 early 1980s to the late 1990s. 



"The wholesale seafood business is based on volume," says Brady, a former Carteret 

 County commissioner. "With more regulations and reductions in catch, it changed the 

 dynamics of the business." 



Also, it became difficult to run the wholesale business in a public area. "There were 

 many liability issues when running forklifts and parking trucks. The days are gone when you 

 have boatbuilding and repairs, and fish house operations that are open to the public. Now, you 

 have to put a fence around these businesses. You can't afford to have people get hurt," Brady 

 says. 



Shepard's Point Boat Company — the only boatyard left on the Morehead City 

 waterfront — added a fence because of insurance requirements, says manager Tommy Russell. 



Pappy joe Fulcher, 

 one of the first party boat captains on the Morehead 

 waterfront, celebrated his 87th birthday on July 10, 

 1 983. The former Ottis 1 Fish Market is now boarded 

 up. Capt. Gilbert Mathis is one of several commercial 

 fishermen who still dock on the waterfront. Charter 

 and recreational boats outnumber commercial vessels 

 at the docks. The Sanitary Fish Market & Restaurant 

 offers a view of Bogue Sound. 



i 



Coastwatch I Early Summer 2006 I www.ncseagrcmt.org 



