Fishing the bountiful waters of the Gulf Coast draws thousands of tourists to Baldwin County every year.
Unfortunately, 2020 dealt the industry a one -two punch when COVID-19 shut down the region and then an unprecedented hurricane season decimated the area.
In March, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey shut down Alabama’s beaches just as spring break vacationers were heading to the area. Canceled vacations meant canceled fishing trips.
Charter Boat Captains like Joe Garris were hit hard. Garris has been in the fishing industry for most of his life. He was raised on the island as the son of a ship builder and took over his father’s boat in 1976.
In a typical year, Garris said he runs an estimated 160 charters between spring break and mid-September on his 32-foot boat Dottie Jo.
“The shutdown killed me. I had trips lined up and when the governor shut the beaches down, I went to zero trips. It basically shut the industry down pretty good. My business personally, and a bunch of businesses I know of, it shut them down completely except for a straggler here or there. It shut us down until the week before Memorial Day,” Garris said.
Once the beaches reopened there was an influx of new customers. Florida’s beaches remained closed giving Alabama’s coastal properties a head start on wooing back tourists.
“When the governor reopened the beaches, it was like they opened the flood gates. We enjoyed it and I was running two trips a day,” Garris said.
Then came the hurricanes, the second gut punch of 2020 for Baldwin’s Charter Boat industry.
Fishing is a weather sensitive gig. Winds, choppy seas and rain do not make for a fun or safe day on the water. Garris said that a small tropical system out in the gulf can shut down a smaller boat like his for several days.
Garris takes his boat out of the water early if a storm is approaching.
“If we are in the cone of a tropical storm or hurricane when it enters the central Gulf of Mexico, I take my boat out. With Sally, I had a feeling. They always turn northeast at some point in time and the way it was going I just had an uneasy feeling. I took mine out a day or two ahead of time. I was out a week or five days before the storm hit. I would have taken it out anyway because we stayed in the cone. I knew I did the right thing when it slowed down,” Garris said. “Dottie Jo safely rode out the storm on a trailer in Bon Secour but not everyone can say the same.”
Many of those who kept their boats in the water suffered enormous loss.
Every marina in Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and the surrounding area was damaged. Hurricane Sally’s quick shift from a Category 1 to Category 2 left no time for owners to remove their boats.
“I ran Zeke’s Marina for 20 years and our rule for a Cat 1 was everybody tied together, tie down and buckle down. But this didn’t end up being a Cat 1. I am speaking for a lot of boats in Orange Beach because most all of them stayed. When it jumped up to a CAT 3 you don’t have time to go anywhere. You can’t get out then,” said Tom Steber, owner of Fort Morgan Marina.
That marina’s dry storage building was destroyed along with most of the 75 boats stored inside. Steber estimates the marina suffered over $2 million in damage.
“Fort Morgan didn’t have the surge of water like Orange Beach. Our docks were damaged a little bit, but they were already in the process of being worked on. We didn’t get killed because of the wave break we installed. Where we got hurt was, we lost the dry storage building. It was built in 1999 and got a new roof two years ago but the 135 mph winds were too much. We are going to build it back to sustain 175 mph winds so hopefully we won’t have this issue in the future,” Steber said.
With the combined hits of the pandemic shutdowns and hurricane damage, Garris and Steber both estimate a 20 – 25 % reduction in revenue this year.
President of the Alabama Charter Fishing Association (ACFA), Gary Bryant estimates 15 charter boats sustained significant damage from Hurricane Sally. Many had minor damage. Bryant estimates the insurance claims from the charter industry in Alabama to be an estimated $2 million.
Area marines are now using the down season to make repairs and prepare to reopen for 2021. Bryant said he believes all ACFA boats and marinas will be ready by spring break, 2021.
