The historic Margate fishing pier is now surrounded by sand. A good bit of this 500 foot structure is up to it’s neck in sand that was recently strip-mined right off of our coast.
This nonprofit, membership-sustained Margate fishing club and pier is owned by The Anglers Club of Absecon Island.
Sadly, fishing is not so good as of late. Heavy machinery bulldozes and pumps all day & night. Fish don’t like that. Neither do humans.
The man-made sand dunes and extended beach between Exeter & Essex is making the water too shallow for fishing. The NJ state mandated work is putting the pier in a dire financial position.
The beach & dune work could scare off more members that pay approx $250 in annual fees. Dune work is also exacerbating safety and environmental issues for the Margate Fishing Pier.
NJ Gov. Christie threatened legal action and bullied the historic 500 ft pier, built in 1923, into submission. Christie forced the pier to give up easements so that a favored contractor from Cranford, NJ could tap into the $68 million Sandy Relief Fund.
In other ‘let’s screw with the environment’ news, four Ventnor beaches were closed on Wed. July 26, due to high levels of bacteria.
According to the state Department of Environmental Protection: Austin, Dorset, New Haven and Washington ave. were closed on Wednesday. The following beaches in Atlantic City were issued swimming advisories on Wednesday: Bartram, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Montgomery Ave, Georgia and Annapolis Ave.
Was the bacteria from storm run-off or bird poop as the local mainstream media reports? Or was it from the non-stop dredging off shore? Local media ignored that possibility.