The National Park Service has executed a lease with Oregon Inlet Marinas, LLC, managed by Russell C. King, to provide for the maintenance and continued operation of Oregon Inlet Marina, also known as Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, for use as a charter boat marina. The lease is for a 20 year period and will commence Dec. 31.

The announcement was made in a media release.

Oregon Inlet Marinas, LLC, was selected to negotiate a lease for Oregon Inlet Marina in accordance with the equest for proposals, which was issued June 7 and closed on Sept. 5. The park service received multiple proposals in response to the request and selected Oregon Inlet Marinas, LLC as the best responsive proposal.

Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, which is at the north end of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, includes a 60 slip marina; seven buildings totaling 7,369 square feet; about 7.4 acres of associated land area with 4.5 acres of upland and 2.9 acres of submerged area; a parking lot with about 220 spaces; six vessel fuel pumps, one vehicle fuel pump and associated fuel system and storage.

The fishing center is adjacent to a park service-managed public boat ramp and associated parking lot. An active U.S. Coast Guard station is close by. Across the street is the park service’s Oregon Inlet Campground.

In accordance with the lease, Oregon Inlet Marinas is authorized to use the marina for the following purposes:

• Marina slip rentals only for charter fishing boats (for-hire fishing vessels); headboats; tour boats; dive boats (collectively, such boats and watercraft are referred to as commercial watercraft) and large commercial or governmental vessels such as dredges;
• The rental of non-motorized watercraft such as kayaks, canoes and sailboats but not personal watercraft.
• The sale by lessee to the public of opportunities for activities on lessee-owned commercial watercraft;
• The sale of fishing and boating goods and services including ice, bait, tackle, fishing and boating apparel, camping supplies, fish cleaning services, photography supplies and services and fuel;
• Booking services for users of commercial watercraft;
• The sale of food and beverage items (non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages);
• The sale of other retail items not included above provided that the sale of such items is consistent with park area purposes;
• Special events associated with the use of the marina for charter fishing boats, such as fishing tournaments; and
• Provision of a small children’s play area.

In the request for proposals, the National Park Service spells out a requirement for Oregon Inlet Marinas to undertake improvements to create “a safe, sustainable, environmentally sound and resilient marina bulkhead, or equivalent shoreline stabilization project” that will allow marina operations through the 20-year term of the lease.

According to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s administrative history, a fishing center has been in operation in its current location since at least December 1956, consistently providing slip rentals and charter fishing boat services, states the request for proposals.

“As Oregon Inlet Marina comes under new management, the National Park Service would like to thank Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, LLC for its many years of providing high-quality charter fishing services on the Outer Banks,” states the prepared statement.

“The Oregon Inlet Fishing Center and the talented captains docking at the marina have put Oregon Inlet on the map as one of the best offshore fishing destinations in the world,” stated David Hallac, superintendent of National Parks of Eastern North Carolina, in a prepared statement.

Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, LLC, operated the marina under a concession agreement with the National Park Service.

The request for proposals reported that Oregon Inlet Fishing Center generated annual gross receipts for 2014 as $3,384,986; 2015 as $3,000,592; and 2016 as $2,930,619.

The request for proposals spells out what the National Park Service has determined as the fair market value of rent for the marina: $40,000 fixed annual rent plus five percent of gross revenue with the fixed annual rent increased by 10 percent every five years. The request for proposals indicates that a rent offset is available for park service-approved maintenance projects.

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