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An expanded Web version of segments seen on CNN Unclogging nature: N. Carolina's inlet outcome debated
January 29, 1998
Fisherman want jetties added to the Oregon Inlet, but environmentalists want the waterway to be left alone
Web posted at: 2:01 p.m. EDT (1401 GMT)From Reporter Rick Lockridge
OREGON INLET, North Carolina (CNN) -- A key lifeline to North Carolina's ocean fishing industry soon may be cut off in a dispute pitting those who want nature to take its course against others who favor human intervention. At issue is the shallow, winding Oregon Inlet, north of Cape Hatteras -- the only passageway for many boats heading through North Carolina's Outer Banks to the sea.
While the area's supply of fish is abundant, getting to it is a problem. Oregon Inlet is the only waterway directly linking the Atlantic Ocean to the placid Albemarle Sound, where the area's sport and commercial fishing boats are moored.
Watch Rick Lockridge's entire report as seen on CNN
2 min. 30 sec. VXtreme video
Shallow inlet
561K/14 sec./160x120
QuickTime movieBut the inlet -- and the livelihood of the fishermen who use it -- are at the mercy of nature, which is clogging the narrow passageway with sand.
In some places, says the Coast Guard's Thomas Guess, the channel is only 12-feet deep.
Fishing and tourism are the area's key industries and both are directly related to ocean access, says Fletcher Willey of the Oregon Inlet Waterways Commission.
(136K/11 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
"If you can't get out of the inlet, it would totally cut us off."
Already, passage through the shallow, winding inlet is perilous, even for experienced boat captains.
Terry Beery, talking to CNN as he navigated his sport fishing craft through Oregon Inlet, said first-timers making the journey have his sympathy. (
The Army Corps of Engineers has a plan to build two protective jetties, each stretching out more than a mile into the Atlantic Ocean, to guard the entrance to Oregon Inlet and keep sand out.
The plan is opposed by environmentalists, who want to keep the inlet in its natural state, and has been unable to win approval by lawmakers. Keeping the inlet pristine is a well-meaning idea, says commercial fisherman "Moon" Tillett, but he predicts it won't work. (
Dredge To keep the inlet navigable, the Corps of Engineers dredges it at a cost of about $5 million a year. But one slow-moving dredge is no match for nature. The inlet continues to shrink.
If jetties are not built, says the Corps' Tom Jarrett, Oregon Inlet will eventually close to all navigation. It's up to those who have an economic interest in the project to decide if they want to pay for it, he told CNN. (
But given the nature of the opposition -- and the opposition of nature -- there's anything but smooth sailing ahead for the twin-jetty plan.
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- North Carolina Dept. of Marine Fisheries
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Oregon Inlet Protection Act - National Parks and Conservation Association
- Oregon Inlet Protection Act of 1997
- Oregon Inlet Fishing Center
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
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