Navarre Fishing Pier busy despite oil

NAVARRE BEACH, Florida (WALA) - It's taken five long years, but the Navarre Fishing Pier is open for business again after Hurricane Ivan shut it down in 2004. While the pier is new and improved, the view sometimes is not.

"There were some tarballs the other day," said the pier's manager, Dorothy Slye. "My husband brought them in and I told him to throw it away."

At 1,545 feet, the Navarre Fishing Pier is the longest in the entire Gulf of Mexico. Despite oil looming, Slye says business has been good.

"We still haven't noticed any affects, mainly because our pier is still open for harvesting and so folks from Gulf Shores, Pensacola, and Okaloosa are coming here to fish," added Slye.

Since 1960, Wiley Keyser has fished in Navarre. He says even though forecasts show oil moving east, conditions seemed to have improved in his hometown.

"Yesterday, you could really smell that oil. I was worried about that being in here today, but I guess the current carried it on. I don't even see the skimmers our there today," said Kyser.

Slye hopes it stays that way, but that doesn't mean she's not worried.

"This beach has always been a big part of our life, to see these things and not know how it's gonna affect us. It's like doom hanging over your head," explained Slye.

But that still won't stop guys like Wiley Keyser from fishing.

The pier is open for fishing and swimming. Santa Rosa County officials say there are 11 skimmers working off the coast of Navarre.