Dredging opens Manatee Pocket to more boats

The Triton
By Franki Black
September 7, 2010

For the folks of Manatee Pocket in Port Salerno, Fla., recent financial hardships have stemmed more from shallow channel depths than from the nation’s economic recession. Shallow waters have significantly led to a decrease in the number of recreational and fishing vessels that used to drive the local economy.

In July, all that started to change. A long-awaited dredging project began that will allow larger vessels back into Manatee Pocket, a quaint area with waterside restaurants, galleries and marinas.

“It is the ideal half-way stop for vessels cruising up and down the Intracoastal or East Coast, due to its proximity to the Atlantic and its direct access to the Okeechobee waterway,” said Darryl Schmiermund, general manager of Hinckley Yacht Services. “The major problem we have faced for many years is the severe sediment build-up, which only allows for a maximum boat draft of 5 feet, 5 inches. Boat access is completely reliant on tidal conditions.”

Six years ago, residents and business owners created a committee known as the Manatee Bunch to spearhead a dredging project that would clean and deepen the channel. Martin County commissioners gave the go-ahead this summer and dredging started July 22 under a Dickerson Florida Construction contract.

The project should take 12-14 months and the final result will boast a clean and marked channel with a width of 100 feet and a depth of 10 feet. An estimated 280,000 cubic yards of material is expected to be removed.

Art Cox, owner of A&J Boatworks, has been involved in the project since 2004. The ecological benefits of bringing back aquatic and bird life and probably even more significant than the economic benefits, he said. “I am ecstatic about the progress of the project,” he said. “We are expecting many more boats and once the project is complete larger boats can return to this beloved area with confidence. I think the moon and stars must be on our side.”

Schmiermund is certain that boats with drafts of 6 feet, 8 inches will be able to access the pocket at all times.
“We are very excited about the project because a deeper and more accessible channel means an increase in boating activity, which will boost our local economy,” he said. “The area will be greatly improved.”

For more information visit www.manateepocketproject.com