Plans to pull out a dozen abandoned and derelict vessels from New Hanover County waters are in motion.
The North Carolina Coastal Federation, marine contractors, local governments and North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission are working together this week to remove the 12 vessels from different locations in New Hanover County, including Carolina Beach and Wrightsville Beach.
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The work began last week and is expected to last for the next several days.
“It takes a huge coordinated effort to find the owners, authorize the removal, and dispose of these boats from where they have been abandoned,” Coastal Federation Marine Debris Program Lead and Coastal Scientist Ted Wilgis said in a statement. “Without the support of our local governments, the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management, and the efforts of the Wildlife Resources Commission, we wouldn’t be able to remove these vessels and protect our coastal waters and habitats.”
The Coastal Federation has removed 110 vessels from the state’s waterways since 2021. The organization and Wildlife Resources Commission, which has removed more than 200 vessels in the last few years, plan to pull an additional 40 vessels from waters from Pasquotank to Brunswick counties by the end of the year.
Funding is through the North Carolina General Assembly and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program, part of the federal agency’s nearly $6 billion total investment under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Local governments, state agencies and the Coastal Federation are looking into ways to increase penalties for abandoned vessels, develop voluntary measures to reduce abandoned vessels, and use insurance and ownership transfer requirements to increase the vessel owners’ share of removal costs, the organization said.
The vessel removal is under the organization’s Marine Debris Program that is focused on ensuring that storm-related debris, lost fishing gear and derelict vessels are properly located and removed.
The public is encouraged to report abandoned or derelict vessels to the Wildlife Resources Commission via email to adv@ncwildlife.org. The agency also maintains a map of current abandoned and derelict vessels.
