The Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission (PDC) held a “public engagement meeting” on Wednesday, Dec. 4, at Rappahannock Community College in Glenns to introduce designs for working waterfronts for 11 area “public landings.”
The purpose of the landings is to meet the 21st century needs of rural coast seafood and maritime industries. A shortage of suitable commercial fishing and other maritime waterfront sites on the Middle Peninsula encouraged the PDC to apply for and obtain a $2 million study/design grant through the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT/Marine Administration) Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) funds to find and develop the best sites in the area. The PDC is going to apply for a $25 million RAISE grant in January to fully develop those sites.
The Virginia Watermen’s Association (VWA) has for years warned that there is a need for suitable onshore commercial fishing locations in the region where watermen can off-load payload into trucks and for other maritime activities are rapidly being encroached upon by residential development.
VHB looked at 60 locations for development on the Middle Peninsula and narrowed the most likely locations to advance in the grant process to 11. There are three priority locations in Middlesex County being considered. They are Stamper’s Bay Landing on Piankatank River and Mill Creek landing at Wake and Whiting Creek Landing at Locust Hill, both on Rappahannock River.
Wiatt reported on each site. “Whiting Creek Landing has a history of limited commercial watermen use, but offers opportunities for increased commercial use due to the location on the Rappahannock River,” said Wiatt. “Site improvements will include heavy duty asphalt paved access and waterside improvements that include additional parking, a drivable concrete fitted pier for offloading seafood, an improved boat ramp, a floating courtesy dock and improvements to the existing rock jetty.”
Mill Creek Landing Boat Ramp is a commercial and recreational site with a history of some commercial watermen use, he said. Site improvements include a heavy duty concrete paved access, a 90-foot diameter turnaround for commercial and recreational vehicles, additional parking, and accessible walkway improvements to the dock. Waterside improvements include replacement of the fishing pier, installation of a two-lane boat ramp, a drivable concrete fixed pier for offloading and a timber fixed pier with seven wet slips and a wave screen.
Stamper’s Bay Landing lacks a history of commercial watermen use, but offers opportunities for commercial development, he said. Site improvements there include heavy duty asphalt paved access, a 60-foot diameter turnaround for commercial and recreational vehicles, a drivable concrete fixed pier for offloading, an improved boat ramp, a courtesy dock, a gangway to a heavy duty floating dock and two wet slips.
Wiatt also reported that from 2018 through 2022 Middlesex watermen landed 5,660,000 pounds of harvest worth $16,180,000. The top catch was 3,600,000 pounds of blue crabs, 1,090,000 pounds of oysters and 450,000 pounds of marketable finfish.
The other most favorable sites are East River Boat Yard, Davis Creek Landing, Winter Harbor Landing, all in Mathews County; The Corduroy Canal at Captain Sinclair’s, Perrin Wharf and William’s Landing, all in Gloucester County; Mattaponi River Public Access Site in King & Queen County near the town of West Point; and Rappahannock River Park in the Town of Tappahannock.
