N.C. Fishing Pier Day?

I received word today that the North Carolina Fishing Pier Society is in the process of working with Senator Marc Basnight on a proposal to declare a North Carolina Fishing Pier Day.

The NCFPS is a non profit organization that is working to preserve North Carolina's coastal fishing piers. For fishing piers, the biggest enemy is not necessarily hurricanes or other natural disasters, but rather the rapid appreciation in value of coastal land.

"Skyrocketing coastal real estate values and rising operation costs in recent years have done what many a hurricane has failed to do and that is destroy these piers. The land is becoming too valuable to operate a marginal business like a fishing pier and once the property changes hands the pier's fate is almost certainly sealed."

According to the NCFPS website as of 2006 there are 20 fishable piers still in operation on the Carolina coast. This is down from 32 ten years ago. This is a shame since many vacationers only experience with salt water fishing comes from baiting a hook at the local pier. The impressive thing about the NCFPS is that they recognize that the long term solution to this problem does not only involve public money, but also must include an economic solution that can make the piers more viable operations. (photo courtesy of the NCFPS)