MOVE the Channel off the Riverwalk Fishing Pier-for the safety of everyone!
MOVE the Channel off the Riverwalk Fishing Pier-for the safety of everyone!
The Issue
New Bern is exceptionally grateful for the new fishing pier in the downtown region. It is a safe space for fishers to continue the sport and do so away from the previous popular location, the pedestrian boardwalk. But with this new pier has come a new problem that affects both fishers and boaters alike, the navigational channel. This channel is far too close to the newly constructed pier, less than 50ft away from the end. It has caused several incidents in the short months it's been open.
On any given day there are as many as 20-30 fishers out on this pier, especially during peak seasons, all with multiple lines in the water. When a boat comes through, they cause mass destruction by inevitably taking the lines into their motors and effectively breaking off the fishers, usually in mass, up to 20 at a time. When this happens, it does more than take the line. It takes all the hooks, leaders, bobbers, swivels, and anything else with it. This is all expensive tackle that we have on and lose, sometimes more than once in a trip. It also means the time it took to rig that one and to now replace it and it often results in stripping line, how much varies. No boater wants lines stuck in their motors, having to take time to clean it out, or causing damage to their expensive machines. On top of this, it leads to heated, violent confrontations that put both parties at risk.
New Bern created this pier to help us, now it is their responsibility to take care of any issues that arise due to the placement and construction. We, the fishers and boaters, ask that the city and F&W take the time to find some way to resolve this before it causes any more damage. Perhaps relocating the channel, creating a new one, etc. SOMETHING needs to be done.
Something needs to be done now, while the fishing is at a lull. Now is the perfect time to do something because fishing will die down for months, the pier will be less populated and as will the boat traffic. Taking time to do it now will lead to less heartache for everyone. And the sooner we do it the sooner tensions calm down.
19
The Issue
New Bern is exceptionally grateful for the new fishing pier in the downtown region. It is a safe space for fishers to continue the sport and do so away from the previous popular location, the pedestrian boardwalk. But with this new pier has come a new problem that affects both fishers and boaters alike, the navigational channel. This channel is far too close to the newly constructed pier, less than 50ft away from the end. It has caused several incidents in the short months it's been open.
On any given day there are as many as 20-30 fishers out on this pier, especially during peak seasons, all with multiple lines in the water. When a boat comes through, they cause mass destruction by inevitably taking the lines into their motors and effectively breaking off the fishers, usually in mass, up to 20 at a time. When this happens, it does more than take the line. It takes all the hooks, leaders, bobbers, swivels, and anything else with it. This is all expensive tackle that we have on and lose, sometimes more than once in a trip. It also means the time it took to rig that one and to now replace it and it often results in stripping line, how much varies. No boater wants lines stuck in their motors, having to take time to clean it out, or causing damage to their expensive machines. On top of this, it leads to heated, violent confrontations that put both parties at risk.
New Bern created this pier to help us, now it is their responsibility to take care of any issues that arise due to the placement and construction. We, the fishers and boaters, ask that the city and F&W take the time to find some way to resolve this before it causes any more damage. Perhaps relocating the channel, creating a new one, etc. SOMETHING needs to be done.
Something needs to be done now, while the fishing is at a lull. Now is the perfect time to do something because fishing will die down for months, the pier will be less populated and as will the boat traffic. Taking time to do it now will lead to less heartache for everyone. And the sooner we do it the sooner tensions calm down.
19
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on November 15, 2025