19961054 Ver 2_Public Notice Comments_20110705 (49)

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North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Division of Marine Fisheries
Beverly Eaves Perdue Dr, Louis B, Daniel III Dee Freeman
Governor Director Secretary
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MEMORANDUM
TO: Dave Timpy ?.
USACE Wilmington District
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FROM: Dr. Louis B. Daniel, III, Director 41 6"
Division of Marine Fisheries 'SEG. f,

DATE: June 6, 2011
SUBJECT: Bennett Brothers Yachts, Inc.
New Hanover County
I have reviewed the comments provided by the District Manager and/or Bio-Supervisor and
concur with their recommendations).
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;6ctor,
. Louis B. Daniel, III
Deputy Director,
Barbara Y. Lupton
Date
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Habitat Protection Section Chief, `Dat
Anne Deaton
5285 Hwy 70 West, Morehead City, North Carolina 28557
Phone: [phone] FAX: [phone]'s Internet: www.ncdmf.net
Ari EEquai Oppalurriy, A irgrallve Aelion Employer
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NCDENR
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Division of Marine Fisheries
Beverly Eaves Perdue Dr. Louis B. Daniel III
Governor Director
MEMORANDUM:
r-A IdAILED
Dee Freeman
Secretary
TO: Dave Timpy, USACE Wilmington District v
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THROUGH: Anne Deaton, DMF Habitat Section Chief-AD at' s i 2 011
FROM: Jessi Baker, DMF Habitat Alteration Permit Reviewer E " N;Ut j• FLD. Gi:C.
SUBJECT: Bennett Brothers Yachts, Inc.
DATE: June 6, 2011
The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) submits the following comments pursuant to North Carolina
General Statute 113-131. DMF has reviewed the USACE Public Notice that Bennett Brothers Yachts, Inc. is seeking to
perform dredging at an open slip marina located just north of the Isabella Holmes Bridge on the northeast Cape Fear
River in a MFC designated Primary Nursery Area (PNA). Shoaling has occurred in the marina area so that some slips are
not deep enough to dock large vessels. The applicant is proposing to excavate approximately 3,942 cy of material from
1.85 acres (80,586 sf) of shallow bottom habitat using hydraulic dredging. The area proposed for dredging consists of
shallow muddy substrate with woody debris and a wetland shoreline. Dredging will be to a depth of -4.5 MLW at the
landward side of the main docks, sloping to approximately -11.0 ft MLW at the outer edge of the proposed dredging
footprint.
In 1997, Bennett Brothers Yachts applied for a permit to construct the marina and associated upland structures.
Although the site did not require dredging at that time, DMF responded that any requests to dredge would be
recommended for denial in the future since this area in a designated PNA. Although DMF recommended denial of
applications to dredge in the travel lift pit in 2007 and to dredge two acres in the marina area in 2010, Bennett
Brothers Yachts was granted a variance for both applications by the CRC.
As in the past, DMF recommends denial of this project due to adverse impacts to a PNA. This letter will explain the
importance of PNAs, the value of this particular location as a PNA, and the harmful precedent that would be set by
permitting this project with mitigation.
Primary Nursery Areas
The life history of most estuarine dependent species in North Carolina goes through four stages. Adults spawn in the
ocean, the larvae then drift through inlets into an estuary, and these, now post-larvae, settle to the bottom in nursery
areas. As the post-larvae develop into juvenile fishes, they gradually move out into deeper waters as they grow,
completing the final stage of development. This nursery stage is a critical point in the life history of these species,
since it determines the number of individuals that survive and grow into adults.
5285 Hwy 70 West, Morehead City, North Carolina 28557 OnrthCarolina
Phone: [phone] FAX: [phone]T Internet: www,ncdmf.net a ?
An Equal Opportunity l A?midve Action Emdoyer / ? fa'tl'ra fil
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Division of Marine Fisheries
Nursery areas are defined by the Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) as "...those areas in which for reasons such as
food, cover, bottom type, salinity, temperature and other factors, young finfish and crustaceans spend the major
portion of their initial growing season" [15A NCAC 031.0101 (4) (f)]. Primary Nursery Areas (PNAs) are those areas in
the estuarine system where initial post-larval development takes place. The purpose of designating the nursery areas
was to maintain undisturbed conditions as much as possible. Following extensive sampling, PNAs were designated by
the MFC in 1977. Each year in May and June, 104 stations continue to be sampled to assess abundance and size
composition of key species, diversity (number of species), and site conditions. Recognizing the critical importance of
nursery areas, the Marine Fisheries, Coastal Resources, and Environmental Management Commissions put in place
rules to protect PNAs from bottom disturbance, dredging, and water quality degradation.
Dredging adversely impacts PNAs because it severely alters the habitat for juvenile fishes. Shallow habitats provide
juvenile fish with protection from large predators, productive bottom which is closer to the light source and may
support a diversity of microalgae, detritus, and prey organisms, and temperatures and salinities that are preferred by
juvenile fishes. By dredging, these benefits are removed and replaced with increases in turbidity during dredging,
sedimentation in surrounding areas, less productive substrate, and potential exposure to buried toxins and low oxygen
waters.
PNA at Bennett Brothers Yachts
One of the DMF juvenile trawl survey stations occurs just upstream of Bennett Brothers Yachts at the mouth of Smith
Creek (Figure 1). Trawl data has been collected here since 1978. From 2003 to 2007, DMF also completed an
electrofishing survey at this station. This area exhibits a high abundance of indicator species (Table 1 and 2), size
composition that is uniformly early juveniles, and a high species diversity. The most commonly occurring species were
spot, Atlantic croaker, bay anchovy, Atlantic menhaden, white shrimp and southern flounder. In addition to these
estuarine species, anadromous fish, such as American and hickory shad and striped bass, and resident freshwater
species such as largemouth bass and catfish also utilize the site during periods of low salinity. With over 84 species
recorded at this site since 1978, overall diversity is high. At first glance, one might think that the shoreline area on a
deep industrialized river would not be a productive nursery area. However, because the Cape Fear River directly opens
to the ocean and has high tidal exchange, large numbers of fish larvae can be transported up the river rapidly. With
limited shallow edge habitat and high use by many types of aquatic organisms, the shallow muddy edges of the Cape
Fear River appear to be very productive and critical nursery areas. The shallow area around Bennett Brothers Yachts
has the characteristics of a productive PNA and the proposed dredging would result in significant adverse impacts to
the biological resources.
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North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Division of Marine Fisheries
Figure 1. Aerial photo showing positions of Isabella Holmes Bridge, Bennett Brothers Yachts, Inc., and the Smith Creek
sampling station.
Table 1. Top ten species caught at the Smith Creek sampling stations from 1978 to 2009 Trawl Survey data with
indicator species in bold.
Species Individuals Rank
Spot 14,631 1
Croaker 7,790 2
Bay Anchovy 7,578 3
Menhaden 4,233 4 e
White Shrimp 721 5
Southern Flounder 668 6 f;rg?
Hogchoker 596 7
Brown Shrimp 522 8
Grass Shrimp 211 9
Blue Crab 205 10
North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Division of Marine Fisheries
Table 2. Electrofishing survey results of juvenile fishes from Smith Creek Sampling Station from 2003 to 2007 with
indicator species in bold.
Species Individuals
Spot 1,871
Striped Mullet 742
Menhaden 606
Croaker 531
Inland Silverside 347
Grass Shrimp 332 3.« ,?.
Bay Anchovy 271
Southern Flounder 35 'a

Brown Shrimp
11 nI?
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Blue Crab 7
Miti¢ation
The USACE and North Carolina Division Water Quality both accept compensatory mitigation for impacts to wetlands.
Wetlands have been studied extensively and are defined by the 1487 Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual
as having particular soil, hydrologic, and vegetative characteristics. Because of this knowledge, one or more of these
characteristics can be successfully enhanced or re-created, often at the site of a former wetland. In this way, the loss
of wetland acreage at one location is mitigated for by the replacement of that acreage at another.
PNAs are defined by the abundance, life stage, and diversity of certain fishes. These areas are not characterized by
certain physical parameters that can be constructed or planted, like wetlands, and therefore cannot be replaced
through a traditional mitigation project. Although most PNAs do occur in shallow areas and over certain bottom
types, those are certainly not the only necessary components for a PNA (which make up only 8% of North Carolina
estuarine waters), At this time DMF does not consider mitigation for PNA loss a viable option because the costs and
likelihood of failure are too great. The Division of Marine Fisheries, therefore, recommends denial of this project.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide our comments on this project. Please feel free to contact Jessi Baker at (252)
808-8064 or iessi.bakerOncdenngov if you have any further questions or concerns.