NAPLES, Fla. — Debris from the ongoing Naples pier demolition project is causing headaches for local charter boat captains who say the temporary staging area at Bayview Park is blocking access to essential facilities.
The demolition debris is being processed and sorted at Bayview Park in Collier County, but charter captains say the operation is disrupting their business by blocking access to public fish cleaning stations.
WATCH TO SEE WHAT THE STAGING AREA IS BLOCKING OFF:
"It's a big job to filet fish at the end of a trip and it's making it a big hassle for us," said Bill D'Antuono, a charter captain for Offshore Naples Fishing Charters.
D'Antuono said access to the public fillet board is blocked, making it harder for fishermen to clean their catch before selling or taking it home. He's been trying to get answers but says he's been sent back and forth between the city and county.
"I could get two guys and we could unbolt it and put it right here in an hour but then who knows we're going to get in trouble to do it," D'Antuono said.
Others say the issue should be an easy fix.
"It's blocking off our filet table here so it's causing our customers first of all to not really want to go fishing as much because it's not as easy to filet their fish here right on the water where they're able to throw their carcasses in the water," said Matthew Roth who works at Boat House of Naples.
Both the city and county say they are finalizing a mutual agreement that would allow fishing charters to access facilities at the park. The city also says it's reviewing a possible fencing change, which would allow use of the fish cleaning station.
"A lot of people are impacted by it right now," D'Antuono said.
The city and county say updates will be posted on social media once the agreement is finalized.
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