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Editorial: Danger ahead

Davis Creek, the once-throbbing center of Mathews County’s commercial fishing industry, is in danger of losing its lighted channel markers. Hole in the Wall has lost its day markers. Winter Harbor lost its markers several years ago.

The waterways of Mathews County are closing in … in both a natural sense, as siltation fills the channels for which there is no longer money to dredge, and by the hand of man, which says there’s no longer any use trying to mark them.

We have to wonder which waterway will next be considered not worthy of marking for maritime traffic.

Danger signs are erected where once a marker showed a safe channel. There is danger ahead to the county if this trend cannot be reversed.

As the doors close to county waterways, we can only imagine that the formerly vital waterborne economy will dwindle even more. Although commercial fishing has declined, one does not have to be a waterman to realize how these marker removals will affect the county.

For i...

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