THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 2, 1994 TAG: 9410040604
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WANCHESE LENGTH: Long : 162 lines
North Carolina's Seafood Industrial Park opened 13 years ago, touted as the hope for the future of the commercial fishing fleet and the provider of hundreds of jobs.
But the 69-acre facility is still only 40 percent full.
It has never made a profit.
And only about 50 people work there.
Last year it cost taxpayers $45,781.
The amount of the loss actually is good news, because the General Assembly had appropriated $120,271 for operating expenses. And there are other bright spots.
With the help of new Director Rodney W. Perry, who took the helm just over a year ago, the Wanchese seafood park is finally beginning to produce some income.
Even if the long-awaited jetties never get built around Oregon Inlet to help the fishing fleet, Perry and others believe that the park probably will be able to survive.
``It's close to breaking even. That's better than it's ever been before,'' North Carolina Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight said last week. ``That park never did meet anyone's expectations. But it has new energy with Rod Perry behind it.
``As long as I'm around,'' Basnight said, ``the seafood park will be around.''
On New Year's Eve 1970, the United States Congress approved a plan to stabilize Oregon Inlet by building two 1.5-mile rock jetties around the treacherous water route from the Roanoke Sound to the Atlantic Ocean.
The passageway had been shoaling terribly over the past three decades. So much sand had built up that large fishing vessels were running aground. At least eight commercial crew members died trying to cross the ever-changing bar.
In preparation for the jetties - and the larger commercial fishing fleet expected to follow - North Carolina and Dare County officials began improving the harbor in Wanchese.
The state commerce department appropriated $2.5 million to build an industrial seafood processing plant to handle the expected increase in commercial catches. Another $5.6 million in federal economic development grants helped complete the $8.1 million project. The Industrial Seafood Park opened in March 1981.
But the proposed jetties were swept away in a tide of red tape.
``This whole business about getting the inlet stabilized has never been a question of facts, figures, or economic justification,'' state Commerce Department spokesman Tom Richter told Dare County's Oregon Inlet and Waterways Commission at a Thursday night meeting.
``We're just talking problems between agencies of the federal government.''
Two weeks ago, Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. pledged to personally meet with President Clinton in an effort to push forward the $97 million jetties project.
Politicians were delighted - and praised the progress.
But Perry said he is no longer waiting for the jetties.
``We've been on hold long enough. It's time to get on with it,'' the Kitty Hawk native said. ``If the inlet is stabilized, I think there would be more commercial seafood-related businesses willing to locate here.
``But I don't want this facility to lay idle just because Oregon Inlet is not stabilized.
``There's been the perception that without the jetties, this park cannot succeed,'' Perry said. ``It has enough amenities and versatility - and is unique enough with a 15-foot-deep harbor and waterfront locations - that it can be successful.''
Basnight agreed.
``Jetties and the seafood park go hand-in-hand,'' he said. ``But the state still is, and always has been, behind that park - with or without the jetties.''
In June 1993, the General Assembly passed a law expanding the scope of the Wanchese facility. Instead of just leasing land to seafood processing plants, park officials can now rent to marine industries, too. If it's related to boats, it can be part of the seafood industrial park.
About 50 employees now work at the park. Seven businesses are located there. The industrial complex has its own wastewater treatment facility that can process 270,000 gallons per day.
But Top Fin Ltd., which opened in December, is the lone seafood enterprise.
An engine and propeller shop, marine maintenance center, welding business and commercial fishing supply company all operate out of the waterfront buildings. The state's Division of Marine Fisheries oyster culture office and the U.S. Coast Guard's Aids to Navigation team are also committed to residency.
``Usually, we ask for five-year leases,'' said Perry, who had to evict King Crab Seafood Co. from the park this summer for failing to pay rent. ``It costs 26-cents per square foot for waterfront dock space.'' Nonwaterfront property rents for 20-cents a square foot.
``We're not real selective about who's coming in here anymore,'' said Rondal K. Tillett, chairman of the 11-member North Carolina Seafood Industrial Park Authority. ``If it's related to seafood in any way, we'll take it.
``If we don't get the jetties, this park could be disbanded eventually,'' Tillett said. ``But I think we'll be able to bring in more business even without the jetties.''
Critics have charged that if the jetties are never built - and the park remains operating in the red - the state might as well move it to another port where seafood processors already are open.
Some local watermen think the state should offer the facility for private purchase.
North Carolina Coastal Federation President Melvin Shepard, who is a commercial fishing advocate in addition to heading the environmental organization, said free enterprise - not state politics - should dictate the seafood park's future.
``Parks like Wanchese are doomed to failure because you can't get everybody to bring all of their seafood to the same place to be processed,'' Shepard said. ``That just doesn't happen. What the state ought to do is take a good, hard look at that seafood park during this two-year moratorium on buying commercial fishing licenses.''
What the state really ought to do, seafood park tenant Wayne Umphlett said, is help bail its park out.
``It's grown very little in five years. I haven't seen nearly as much growth out here as I'd hoped for,'' said Umphlett, who opened Harbor Welding in the Wanchese industrial park in 1989. ``Business is good. We're doing well. But the state needs to send more of its own work this way.
``They got barges. They got ferries. They got all sorts of marine fisheries officials. Why don't they bring some of their own business to that park?'' Umphlett asked. ``Seems they'd want to rent back their own space rather than lease somewhere else AND lose money at the seafood park.''
Perry said he has done a lot of personal politicking for the park - but hasn't tried advertising yet. Ads may be part of a future plan, he said. But for right now, he is relying on word of mouth.
The park is about 10 percent closer to capacity now than it was before the new director came aboard.
``This place really is a hidden gem for businesses,'' Perry said. ``It just needs to be discovered. This park is not doomed. It has tremendous potential.
``If we don't have anyone leave, and if we can get just a couple of new tenants in here this year, the North Carolina Seafood Industrial Park will be self-sufficient by fiscal year 1995.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
DREW C. WILSON/Staff
North Carolina's Seafood Industrial Park, on the east side of
Wanchese Harbor, has struggled since it opened 13 years ago. Its new
director, Rodney W. Perry, hopes to turn that record around.
Map
STAFF
Graphic
ABOUT THE PARK
Opened in 1981 with federal grants and state money, the $8.1
million facility is located on the Wanchese waterfront on the Outer
Banks.
The 69-acre seafood park will lease space to any seafood or
marine-related business. Waterfront and harbor side lots are
available. Both buildings and vacant land are offered.
Prices range from 20 to 26-cents per square foot.
At least eight lots and three vacant buildings currently are
open.
For more information about the North Carolina Seafood Industrial
Park, call Director Rod Perry at (919)
473-5867.
by CNB