Delaware’s oceanfront parks should benefit all citizens, tourists

The following letter was sent to Gov. John Carney, DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin and Ray Bivens, director of the Division of Parks and Recreation, with a copy submitted to the Cape Gazette for publication.

The almost 14 miles of beautiful beach in Delaware’s oceanfront parks (60 percent of the state’s oceanfront) should be a tremendous benefit to the Delaware economy, all Delaware residents, the Delaware tourist industry and the communities near the parks that use park beaches for their beach experience.

The Delaware Beach Access Coalition, in the three years before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in 2020, campaigned to provide small areas of park beach for use by persons other than those 17,000 with truck beach-driving permits. That effort provided an education about the political influence of the Delaware Mobile Surf Fishermen club and their supporters, and the current misuse of Delaware’s park beaches.

Because the oceanfront park beaches are in Sussex County, legislative protocol provides the Sussex County legislative delegation with deference concerning matters relating to these beaches. We understand the only legislators interacting with the parks department concerning oceanfront park issues are legislators from Sussex County.

The Delaware Mobile Surf Fishermen was founded in Sussex County in 1958. Although reduced to less than 1,000 members, truck surf fishers exercise extraordinary clout with the members of the Sussex County delegation. The DMS has used that clout to prevent the rest of the Delaware population from accessing the beach on summer weekends and holidays. 

As in no other state, surf-fishing trucks, many with people only pretending to fish, dominate the beach, to the detriment of all others seeking a pleasant beach experience.

The inequity of beach access and use is blatant, sustained and deeply rooted.

At a meeting of the coalition with three members of the Sussex County legislative delegation, the senior senator from Sussex County described an unwritten “deal” that provides priority to truck surf fishers to almost all the park oceanfront beaches. The senator explained that decades ago, when a swimming area in the Fenwick State Park was sought for the use of residents and tourists, a deal was made which he and the other Sussex County legislators continue to enforce. In return for a promise that the DMS would not object to the development by the state of a park swimming-only beach for the public, one that is not accessible to surf-fishing trucks, the DMS demanded that “no more of their beach would be taken from them.”

After that “deal,” the “No Trucks” signs that had previously been posted by the state in front of beach communities bordering the ocean parks were removed. No further park swimming areas have been created, none have been expanded, all while the number of mobile surf-fishing licenses and subsequent trucks on the beach have grown more than tenfold.

This “’deal” has grown into a significant social policy problem with consequences for the state that range from safety to equity to economic loss.

• Safety: The Delaware Beach Access Coalition has documented many, many safety concerns on the beach, including speeding, unattended fishing lines, catching and illegally displaying live sharks, dumping of raw sewage into the beach, clear uncivil behavior toward non-fishermen, and multiple examples of intimidating behavior.

• Equity: For decades, management of the state park beaches has primarily benefited this exclusive sport-fishing group, or those who have learned that this is their way to access most of the 14 miles of state parks. The state has created a system that more or less requires a surf-fishing license to access the park. The number of truck surf-fishing licenses grew from 1,200 in 2001 to 17,000 today. This creates a crowded homogeneous population on what is supposed to be a multi-use beach.

Until the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been wall-to-wall trucks on all the park beaches almost every summer weekend and holiday. Taking a walk on the beach means crossing under hundreds of fishing lines. Safe swimming is difficult unless one travels to the designated swimming area. It is not unusual for one vehicle to set up 10 fishing lines as a way to reserve beach for their group. This happens end-to-end throughout the park on summer weekends and holidays.

Delaware is the only state that allows its oceanfront parks to be used in this manner. The senior senator from Sussex County confirmed to his colleagues and coalition attendees that they would likely lose their elections if any additional portion of park ocean beaches were “taken” from the truck surf fishers as an accommodation to the rest of Delaware’s citizens and tourist visitors.

Although the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has acknowledged the safety and equity concerns, it appears the state has not been able to create an equitable, safe, multi-use approach to beach use in the state parks. Too much power is given to a small group that dominates with political influence, and, consequently, they dominate the beach experience in the state parks. Delaware can and should do better.

Recommendations:

The coalition is broadening our efforts and working with other groups who also seek more equitable use of Delaware park beaches for the benefit of all. Our ideas include:

• The alleged “unwritten deal” must be repudiated, and the parks operated for the benefit of all.

• Bring back the designated “No Trucks” signs that were present before “the deal” as an immediate step toward more equitable, multi-use beach.

• Substantially reduce the number of truck surf-fishing licenses issued.

• Create a legislative task force to determine how the oceanfront parks can best serve Delaware tourism and economic growth through equitable use of this wonderful Delaware resource.

President Biden takes a strong position that policy should create equitable access of services and resources. 

The Delaware oceanfront parks need similar attention and a major effort to assure that the parks are used for the benefit of all Delaware citizens and tourists, not merely influential truck surf fishers.

We hope you will meet with us to work to resolve this issue.