THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 28, 1995 TAG: 9502280265
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Fish populations off North Carolina's coast are not healthy enough today for northeastern North Carolina to reap the economic benefits described in a report on the Oregon Inlet jetties, according to one state official.
Unless state and federal managers come up with plans to increase Atlantic Coast fish populations, fishermen won't harvest the extra 20.26 million pounds of fish projected for the first 10 years the jetties are in place, according to Michael W. Street of the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries.
``There is an assumption of healthy fish stocks,'' Street said. ``That is the key that a lot of people have overlooked.''
The report, written by Lawrence W. Saunders of the Army Corps of Engineers and Eve M. Trow of the Horizon Planning Group in Wilmington, says that for every dollar that taxpayers put into the Oregon Inlet project, North Carolina's economy would receive about $1.70.
The report's claim that an additional 20.26 million pounds will be caught and boost the income of commercial fishermen by $6.1 million will not happen, Street said, unless fish populations improve.
The projections made by the division assume ``fishery stocks harvested by commercial fishermen will be restored to a healthy condition, and maintained over the 50-year life of the project,'' Street said.
Twelve species cited in the economic analysis are currently included in fish management plans. Several of those are subject to quotas that would have to be increased in order for commercial fishermen to meet the poundage specified in the report, according to Division of Marine Fisheries Data.
The report estimates that only about 4.5 million pounds (about 22 percent of the projected increase) ``would be needed to justify construction of the project, all other things being equal.''
The $25,000 economic impact study and an accompanying $30,000 videotape were presented to a group of state and local officials Monday.
Known as the Governor's Oregon Inlet Working Group, the panel hopes the report and film will help the project gain congressional support. The package will be sent to congressional leaders and other federal officials in the coming months.
``There was a story that we really had to tell, of the people who needed the help that would be provided (by the jetties)'' said Robert Williams of the Dare County Oregon Inlet Waterways Commission. ``The need is there. It should be responded to.''
The cost projected for the jetties is $108.3 million, $21.5 million more than the projected cost of the project in 1990. About $97.4 million covers construction costs.
One individual attending Monday's meeting echoed the arguments voiced by environmental groups in opposition to the jetties. Critics contend that is too much to spend to help a few hundred fishermen catch fish that may not be there.
``When you look at the long-term costs, that is a lot of money to spend to benefit just a few people,'' said Bill Coleman, a member of the Atlantic Coast Conservation Association, a sports fishing group.
Other environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, have said they are wary of the economic benefit projections.
``This is an expensive project,'' said Rob Dreher, a lawyer with the Sierra Club's Legal Defense Fund. ``I imagine it would be hard to find $88 million for a pork barrel project to benefit the state of North Carolina.''
U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr. has introduced a bill that would transfer 100 acres of land from the Department of the Interior to the Corps of Engineers for construction of the jetties. However, the project may face opposition from some in the new Republican leadership in Congress. by CNB