Surf shop owner discusses what he says are benefits of offshore drilling exploration
WILMINGTON, NC (WECT/AP) - A small group of Wilmington business owners met for a private meeting Monday to learn more about exploring drilling off the North Carolina coast.
The host, Hunter Ford, owns several Wilmington businesses including Momentum Surf and Skate Shop. For years, Ford said he regurgitated what he thought he should say as a surf shop owner on the topic of offshore drilling
"Starting a conversation that isn't just putting a sign in your yard that says no drilling offshore. I was one of those people," Ford said. "I never put a sign in my yard, but I regurgitated what I thought people expected me to say."
When challenged to learn more about exploring the possibility, Ford found he actually supported the idea.
"This is a non-partisan issue. We need more jobs. We need a beautiful coast," Ford said. "As a Surf Rider Foundation guy, as an owner in the surf business, I think that exploration of natural gas is the way of the future."
Ford partnered with Explore Offshore of North Carolina to host the informational meeting Monday.
Nat Robertson, chairman of Explore Offshore NC, spoke about the benefits of offshore drilling exploration.
"We just met with a lot of citizens inside, professional career fishermen," Robertson said. "It is something that spans the broad spectrum of professions and careers and parties and it should be something, if we learn enough about, there's no reason to say no."
Robertson and Ford say they believe natural gas is the way of the future. They say it will help bring thousands of jobs to the state and boost local economies.
"In North Carolina alone, you're talking about the possibility of about 50,000 jobs and the average salary being around $116,000 a year," Robertson said. "For a lot of the depressed communities around the coast, that's very significant when you look at municipalities and counties. When you look at the revenue and the jobs being created, it's definitely a win-win for the state."
Ford added: "We need better, higher paying jobs and by introducing offshore exploration and offshore drilling over the next 10 years, as we're doubling in population, we're giving people who are graduating from just our community college level jobs, people that are involved in seismic testing, people that are involved in the boat building operations, in welding, and on and on."
The two addressed common concerns they say are misconceptions about offshore drilling.
"Everybody wants to paint a picture that you're going to get tar in your shoes, or you're going to swim and see sea life wash up on the beach," Ford said. "I think that's as far from the truth as could be. Even the seismic testing has gotten so much bad press that people don't quite understand what it is."
Robertson said man-made habitats created by the rigs are second best to natural habitats.
Their objective is to educate more people on the benefits of exploring offshore drilling.
"I think more people should be like this and say 'OK I get it. I need to go educate myself on the process. It's not just about what I think I should say. It's about what's realistic and what we need as North Carolinians,'" Robertson said.
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