by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Richard Yow was waiting for one of his crew to show up so he could go shrimping.
The staff at SunCruz Casino was in the middle of cruises.
The folks at Safe Harbor Market were filling orders for fresh shrimp and other seafood while a crew from Safe Harbor Seafood unloaded hundreds of pounds of shrimp from a boat.
In other words, it was another day of business-as-usual for the folks who make a living in Mayport Village.
That may change dramatically within the next year or two if the Jacksonville Port Authority is successful in moving its cruise ship terminal from Dames Point to a stretch of river just east of Safe Harbor Market.
While the objections of some of the residents of the Village are well-documented, the business owners in the area either favor the idea or are simply playing the wait-and-see game.
“I don’t know what to say. Who knows what it’ll do,” said Gerald Pack, owner of both Safe Harbor Seafood and Safe Harbor Market. “I don’t see it being a problem. I might be the only one that thinks that way. It all remains to be seen. It’s gonna happen. It’s gotta happen. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.”
Pack was born and raised in the Village and has been in the seafood industry since 1977. His business has seen better days, but it’s also seen worse. The national economy has affected him — Pack said Wednesday was the first day in 25 years he didn’t send anything to New York City — but the shrimping and the fishing are still pretty good and there’s still demand, both locally and all over the country.
He does know this much: a cruise ship terminal, the improvements to the area JPA plans to make and the thousands of people coming into the area each week can only help an area that was once a sleepy river village, but is now home to run-down houses and unemployment.
“That space where the boats used to be, those docks are dilapidated and not used anyway,” said Pack, who’s demeanor is short and to the point. “People are worried about traffic, but it’s a busy road anyway. It’ll surely be different and I wish I knew, but who the hell knows? It’s gotta be better than having it look like slumville.”
Paul Denton is the manager of the SunCruz Casino. He’s pretty sure how it will affect the area and his business.
“Personally, I think it’s a good thing and it will be good for Jacksonville,” he said. “I used to work on a cruise ship and I think it will be great for business. It’ll bring numbers (of people).”
Yow is a third-generation fisherman, but his family’s roots in the area go back to the early French who settled the area. His first foray into boat ownership came in 1995 and he’s been relying on the Atlantic Ocean for a living since. Yow says he appreciates what the Port Authority plans to do, especially all the infrastructure improvements and the promise to dredge one basin and repair docks. He also understands fishermen and shrimpers are the epitome of Mayport Village and wonders if they can coexist with a modern cruise terminal and a 1,000-foot boat.
“The bad part is, there is limited dock space and so many boats,” said Yow.
On a cold, windy Wednesday morning Yow was waiting for his crew. The Atlantic would surely be colder and windier than it was dockside. That’s OK, it’s shrimp season, the cost of fuel is down and Yow was leaving that afternoon. Yow’s gotta make a living — cruise ship or not.
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