Oregon Inlet : Ep.2 (72 Year Battle) The Outlet of The Outer Banks

On this episode of Oregon Inlet : The Outlet of The Outer Banks, we take a deeper dive into the day to day struggles of the watermen in Wanchese and surrounding areas. This 72 year battle between the officials in our nations capital and the families whose lives are based off the Oregon Inlet rages on. Mikey Daniels explains how equipment was created in order to process the high volume of fish coming into Wanchese Harbor. Capt. Moon Tillet and Capt. Billy Carl Tillet break down their history with the fight for stabilization. Roughly 300 highway miles separate the people making this decision, leaving many frustrated to say the least. These are real world examples of “Out of sight outta mind.”
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[@jameshunter5485]

That High Tider accent lays lovely on my ears. I have passed through Oregon Inlet many times, and it is always an adventure. Saw Tony Tillett sweating bullets when the Carolinian touched the bottom in a trough on a cool morning. I love this area of the world and want it preserved, but the fisherman, boat builders, fish houses and all the businesses associated with the fishing industry need to be supported and sustained. Build that jetty.

[@CXCVIDEO]

Billy Carl Tillet will be narrating the next few episodes so stay tuned!

[@hotrodrigs1]

The Commercial guys an the Charters guys that run it everyday, constant stress can I get out Can I get my fish an crew back in. God bless them, Safe passage to all At Oregon Inlet.

[@ProAudioCulture]

This is a really great series ! As an OBX local thank you very much for this!

[@CXCVIDEO]

My pleasure!

[@alankoemel3168]

I grew up close to the jetties at Port Aransas, Texas. They just turned 100 years old a few years ago. They are roughly 8000 feet long. The area had the same problem that y’all are having, shifting shoals. Jetties are the only permanent solution. Additionally the jetties are a huge sport fishing attraction. In recent years, additional jetties were constructed at Packary Channel, about 20 miles south strictly for recreational purposes, and Cedar Bayou was dredged about 10 miles north of Port Aransas. These projects were completed with joint cooperation of the corps of engineers, State of Texas, Texas Coastal Conservation association (yall have a NC chapter), private donations, and others. Check out these projects. They are a real boon for sport fishing, commercial fishing, tourism, and large ship traffic to the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas.

[@CXCVIDEO]

That's really interesting. Was there any erosion?

[@alankoemel3168]

@@CXCVIDEO yes some. Much like the Outer Banks, these are on barrier islands. Port A (as we call it) is on the northern end of Mustang Island. Packery Channel is on Padre Island. Cedar Bayou separates St Joseph (St Jo) island and Matagorda Island. The pass, or inlet as y’all call it, at Port A is a naturally occurring waterway. A lighthouse was built there about 40 years prior to the start of jetty construction. In that 40 years, the pass moved south about a mile. It has always been open.

[@alankoemel3168]

@@CXCVIDEO The ecology of the area is as such. The other passes, without jetties, are opened whenever we have a hurricane. However over time, they will completely close up with sand, to a point of being dry land, until the next storm opens them again.

[@alankoemel3168]

@@CXCVIDEO This is what happened with Cedar Bayou. St Joseph Island is privately owned. In 1979, the Bayou was open and had fresh salt water exchange with the bays on the mainland side of the island. That same year, there was a large oil spill off the coast of Mexico, about 200 miles south of the Bayou. Oil started floating north, and did indeed move that far north. But before it could get there, the island owners themselves bulldozed the pass closed with sand to prevent oil from entering the bay ecosystem. It remained closed until about ten years ago, when there was a concerted effort to reopen it. It took a couple of years to go thru the whole process of permits, public hearings, dredging, etc. The Texas CCA spearheaded the effort.

[@gillisBR549]

It’s been 15 years since I’ve been out on my boat, in the inlet... it has surely changed tremendously!!,... We traveled up to Bodie Island/Oregon inlet in 2019, it’s amazing how much the inlet has shifted just in that 3 years! We rode down to Wanchese, to show the kids the importance of our smaller coastal communities! Love it up there, always have...Thank you, for this thread!!!

[@CXCVIDEO]

Coastal culture has a major erosion problem. You're welcome!

[@dirtydutch5253]

Thank you, I've family in Dare county and have watched the tourism so much the traffic is like myrtle beach condensed. One way in, one way out. As long as

[@dirtydutch5253]

this money grab continues, with no visible off season. Why should the state give damn. It Is Politics.

[@drewrhea1021]

Thank you so much for doing these videos of the Oregon Inlet and Outer Banks! It's about time someone does these! Maybe it will get the word out for the help mariners of the Inlet need!

[@CXCVIDEO]

It's a story that needed to be told!

[@drewrhea1021]

@@CXCVIDEO absolutely! Coming from someone who spent and still does spend countless times down in Hatteras, it's awesome someone is finally getting the truth out there!

[@CXCVIDEO]

Hatteras will be making and appearance soon!

[@tekteklokiloki7710]

Lived in the OBX for many years. Made friends with many commercial fishermen. One thing stands in their way is the Federal Government, always playing their hand into someone elses livelyhood

[@CXCVIDEO]

The hardest workers around.

[@chrisbynum4940]

This is a very important story and I'm glad to see you highlighting how it effects the local people. I hope you also talk to the politicians and government officials that are involved in the future of the Oregon Inlet. I would also like to hear from people that are opposed to putting jetties in the inlet or a long term solution to keeping the inlet open. I'm sure someone has studied the impact on fish and natural resources in the area. It would be nice to hear from them also. It's a very complicated and big issue, there will be no easy fix to keeping the inlet open. Hopefully the right people get involved and find a workable solution for everyone that has a stake in this.

[@ronhaworth5471]

A politicians job is to listen,tell you something "good" . Then forget about you till election time!

[@CXCVIDEO]

Thank you, that's around the bend!

[@jimmymcdonald1638]

Great job on this story.

[@CXCVIDEO]

Thanks Jimmy!

[@robertrio632]

I've been sea sick twice in 50 years of fishing and both times were out of Oregon Inlet fishing for yellowfin.

[@srhuhtala]

thank goodness for subtitles

[@CXCVIDEO]

High Tider captions haha

[@dugie5246]

Kinda makes one wonder why build the new bridge so high if nothing being done about fixing inlet issues (jetty). Both should have been done together. This could be one of the best commercial fishing ports on east coast.

[@jamesedwards6269]

Great videos. Doing the lords work. God bless the waterman.

[@CXCVIDEO]

Thank you sir!

[@ralphaverill2001]

The people living and working around the Oregon Inlet have representatives in Raleigh and Washington. They have names and faces. Why didn't they appear in the video? Were they contacted? "We're making a documentary about Oregon Inlet. Congressman So-and-So and Representative Whatsisname are going to appear in it, one way or another, with or without a statement" That's how you put politicians' feet to the fire.

[@josephhertzberg2734]

Agree

[@matthewhuggins4764]

Lived in kill devil hills for years now. I've heard some crazy stories and wad apart of construction on the new bridge

[@CXCVIDEO]

The stories never stop!

[@ZillaCrew]

These are some solid tough people, when is the next episode?

[@CXCVIDEO]

August!

[@suzymoroka297]

I stumbled upon this story and I’m fascinated by the history of the place, the people who are telling their stories. I’ve watched both episodes but I’m unable to get episode 3. I’m in 🇬🇧

[@CXCVIDEO]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! Cheers!

[@CXCVIDEO]

Follow on ig! @counterxcurrent for updates!

[@JRC1588]

Bowie 10 baby 👏

[@robertrio632]

My last time through it would have been 1997 and even back then it was a close call whether they could go out in the morning the sports fishermen captains would talk to each other and decide yea or nay. Get the boats up to speed and shoot it. It was a great experience would be a shame if it doesn't get fixed.

[@alllivesmatter627]

The biggest problem is the lawyers that represent the people who are worried about a few animals. Need to quit worrying about the animals and worry more about peoples lives. They are far more important than a few animals. Animals will adapt and move to a new location. The people can too but the answer is not shutting down a whole town over a few animals. I don’t understand why they choose the life of animals over humans lives bed the future of a town. It would it comes down to it the lawyers don’t care. They just want to get their money.

[@budlight9308]

💯

[@suzymoroka297]

Animals? What animals in the outlet?

[@chrisbynum4940]

I hope they do a video on the people that oppose the jetties. Their concerns should be heard and addressed. Then maybe something could be worked out that satisfies most of the people involved.

[@tsubadaikhan6332]

Sorry Sir, I'm Australian. Thwaites Glacier sits on a part of Antarctica that Australia claims. Thwaites is also known as the Doomsday Glacier, because when it comes off the Antarctic Landmass it will raise Sea Levels up to 2 foot. If Wanchese is flooding every storm you get now, a couple of Jetties are not going to help once that Glacier comes off. Some of us Greenies are not trying to save a couple of fish. Once Thwaites goes you lose half of Florida and the whole Outer Banks. If you don't believe me try asking a Canadian where their Glaciers are going, or the Chinese in Tibet, or the Swiss in the Alps. Sea Level is rising, and we've left it too late to stop. Washington won't spend the Money because they know it's a waste.

[@erichammond9308]

I honestly don't think it has anything to do with animals, or the environment at all. There are no endangered species that would be affected by stabilizing the inlet and constant dredging is even more damaging to the environment surrounding the inlet. What it IS about is commercial and recreational fishing/ tourism $$. The people who oppose the maintenance and stability of the inlet are the commercial interests in other states that would be affected. An open, more popular Oregon inlet would draw commercial fishing boats away from the entire eastern seaboard due to the ease of access and quicker turnaround time. Do you realize how many trawlers that fish around the Outer Banks are from out of state? Most of them! Also, the Gulf stream is an hour or less away and sports fishing charters would be moving down from everywhere north of North Carolina. Root cause of the resistance to a stable Oregon inlet is out of state political pressure to avoid competition with their tourism $$. OH, and not to solely blame other States, the economic interests of Morehead and Wilmington NC are also against stability of the inlet. Mainly the fishing fleets (both commercial and recreational) because even a stable Oregon inlet wouldn't be big enough for larger commercial vessels.

[@duffmanoooyea]

i bet if that inlet was in the ukraine or Afghanistan, the army core of engineers would have that fixed up in asap

[@alltree78]

Jetties would stabilize the entire island

[@stevelindemann456]

I have a hard time believing that 4M of an 8M Sport Fisher goes back into the local economy. Certainly they employ workers and support the community, but 4M? Not going to just buy that without some more data.

[@calebsmith4026]

The Linda Gayle made the thumbnail!!!

[@CXCVIDEO]

She's going to be a mainstay in the series!

[@TC-sr1qf]

How much does it cost to make a jetty?

[@alllivesmatter627]

Honestly the cost of the jetty should not even be taken into consideration. You’re talking about doing something that benefits people’s livelihoods and their safety. How can you put a number on someone’s life and their livelihood

[@gillisBR549]

@@alllivesmatter627 , thank you, for a mature, truthful, response!!

[@TC-sr1qf]

I agree, you can't put a price on those things. However, politicians do, and that's who you need to convince. IMHO your best bet is to estimate the price of the jetty, then compare that to the price of the constant dredging, the destruction of the local fishing industry, the subsequent loss in tax revenue, wrecked boats, coastguard searches, and human lives lost which you cannot put a price on. That's how you convince the politicians it's worth it.

[@CXCVIDEO]

500 million

[@trlblzr7]

And they send 50 billion away like nothing.

[@ericgillespie4369]

I want to help!! What can I do? I want to retire to your area and I have environmental experience and have dealings with federal agencies that should be helping! Let me know

[@CXCVIDEO]

[e-mail]

[@josephhertzberg2734]

What is the unsayable reason the jetty isn't built? I would think it would be a fairly easy project, even politically. Who's against it?

[@josephhertzberg2734]

I now know, it's this guy's fault: Orrin H. Pilkey Jr.

[@CXCVIDEO]

That's a complex question but will be covering all of that in episodes to come.

[@gregorylatta8159]

Why don't they just build the JETTY!

[@lbowsk]

I have a hard time believing that 4M of an 8M Sport Fisher goes back into the local economy. Certainly they employ workers and support the community, but 4M? Not going to just buy that without some more data. In todays US Govt, The Big Banks, the auto manufacturers, big agriculture, Big Oil, they all get the money they want. Wanchese and the people of Eastern NC? Not a chance.