Michelle Brunetti reports for the Atlantic City Press
ATLANTIC CITY — Fish love to hang out by rock jetties.
So that’s where fishermen love to hang out — ‘rock hopping’ and casting their lines from the top of the huge boulders.
But the jetties can be difficult to get to from the new Boardwalk in the Absecon Inlet, constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and owned by the city.
Some require climbing over railings and walking down a thin wooden board onto the rocks 10 feet below, all while carrying fishing gear.
“There’s no kind of way I’d go down there,” said 1st Ward Councilman Aaron “Sporty” Randolph at a news conference Monday across from the Flagship Resort on Maine Avenue.
The event was held by U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, D-2, with representatives of state and federal agencies and city officials.
Van Drew said he is forming a committee that will begin meeting soon to discuss options available for solving the problem, both to tackle the technical challenges and the funding challenges.
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“We are at the point where we’ve spoken with the Army Corps … the DEP (state Department of Environmental Protection) and we know this is a doable process, and something we can accomplish,” Van Drew said.
It’s happening in the wake of the state legislature passing a bill that codifies the “public-trust doctrine,” which states that everyone has a right to enjoy tidal waters and shorelines.
Sport fisherman Dan Ponzio, of Arthur W. Ponzio & Associates engineering firm in the resort, said he has seen welded heavy aluminum stairways work well under similar conditions in south Florida.
“They are all open, there is no kick plate, so the water goes right through — there is no water resistance,” Ponzio said.
The city owns the Boardwalk, but the design of it and the sea wall are controlled by the funders — the Army Corps and the DEP. So all three need to work together to find a solution.
“This is something Las Vegas doesn’t have … something most other gaming venues don’t have,” said Van Drew, gesturing towards the ocean and inlet.
“But we need to have proper, safe, attractive access in order to accomplish the goals that we want,” including diverse offerings for tourists and better quality of life for residents, he said.
