Marina Dock Age

Bennett Brother Yachts at Cape Fear Marina in Wilmington, N.C., will be allowed to dredge parts of its basin, even though it’s located in an area designated as a key nursery for fish, according to a May 23 Star-News report.

Some of the floating docks at the marina now rest on the silted up bottom of the Northeast Cape Fear River at low tide, making slips largely unusable and raising safety concerns for the use of other slips.

“We’re not looking to expand, just maintain what we have right now,” said Tricia Bennett, marina president.

The decision by the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission ran counter to the recommendation from three other state environment agencies – Marine Fisheries, Wildlife Resources Commission and Water Quality, and the Commission’s own Division of Coastal Management staff. All expressed concerns about impacts to the nursery areas if the dredging was allowed to proceed.

The agencies also argued that when the marina opened in 1997, the owners knew they wouldn’t be allowed to dredge down the road because it was located in a primary nursery area.

The majority of the Commission, however, said the issue was a question of fairness, noting that the Army Corps of Engineers is allowed to dredge and maintain the 32-foot deep shipping channel that lies just more than 100 feet from the marina.

Bennett said the worst of the marina’s shoaling problems started about four years ago, although what caused the increased sedimentation remains unknown.

The project calls for dredging an estimated 87,000 cubic square feet of river bottom along the 1,800-foot long marina.

Bennett Brothers attorney Bill Raney said plans call for deepening the side of the floating docks closest to the land to about 4.5 feet, with the dredging extending out until it reaches the river’s natural depth of about 12 feet.