By DREW DIXON, Shorelines
MAYPORT - The Jacksonville Port Authority has arranged for about a half-dozen active shrimp boats to stay in Mayport village, easing shrimpers' fears that they would be forced out of the area once the waterfront land where they docked was sold for a proposed cruise ship terminal.
On Wednesday, the JPA completed a $5 million deal for Mat Roland's 2 acres and his seafood operation, where shrimpers had tied up their boats for years. Also this week, several of the shrimpers who had used Roland's docks have moved their boats to the docks at Hornblower Marine Services, a few hundred feet to the north in Mayport village, said JPA spokeswoman Nancy Rubin.
The port authority, which owns Hornblower, will not charge the shrimpers for docking there, she said.
"This will be for the ones we know that are active," Rubin said.
A JPA structural engineering study showed the wooden docks at Roland's property, with their missing planks and warped walkways, were too unsafe to let shrimp boats remain moored there.
The Hornblower site is where the Blackbeard, a backup vessel for the Mayport ferry, used to dock. It has since been put in storage. The JPA took over the ferry service from Jacksonville in November after Mayor John Peyton said the city could no longer afford the operation.
When the JPA closed on the Roland property, some of the shrimpers who were still using Roland's docks were resigned to the fact that they would lose their livelihood if forced out of the village.
"If I bought this dock, I wouldn't let us tie up either," said Randy Thompson, captain of the shrimp boat Nancy Lee at Roland's dock. "But we really just don't have any place to go. That's our problem."
How long the shrimp boats may stay at the Hornblower site is "indefinite," Rubin said. That site is meant only for boats that make shrimp runs. The JPA will not be responsible for several other vessels moored at the Roland docks that are no longer actively going to sea, she said.
Meanwhile, the port authority will continue to look for a permanent relocation for all the shrimp boats.
"We're trying to help them so they can continue to work despite the transition," Rubin said.
Drew Dixon can also be reached at (904) 249-4947, ext. 6313
