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The Seafood Industrial Park
Information about the Seafood Industrial Park.
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| Vessels moored at the Seafood Industrial Park |
| The Newport News Seafood Industrial Park (SIP) is one of the nation’s premier seafood harbors and an important part of the City’s economy. The SIP is owned by the City and managed by the City’s Harbor Master, Doreen Kopacz. It is home to a number of seafood and other water-dependent companies. It provides full-service accommodations to the seafood industry, including utility hook-ups and vessel fueling, service and repair. The City leases land on a long-term basis to the companies located at the SIP. The companies own the facilities built on that land. Besides land rent, the City obtains revenue from its operation of the SIP from mooring fees. Land rent brings the City more than $450,000 per year and mooring fees have totaled more than $3.1 million since they were first collected in 1989. Businesses also pay real estate property taxes, vessel taxes and machinery and tool/business property taxes to the City. |
Some facts about the SIP:
- The SIP is ranked 6th in the nation in value of seafood landings, which totaled $36.8 million in 2009.
- 75 fishing trawlers offloaded and packed in the SIP in 2010.
- SIP comprises 39 acres, including navigable water.
- All of the land at the SIP is completely leased.
- Vessel moorings are leased to capacity and have been doubled up in recent years to accommodate demand.
- Companies located at the SIP include:
- 4 seafood processors and ancillary retail sales
- 1 crab processor
- 1 fuel depot
- 2 ice plants
- 1 boat building and repair business
- 2 machine shops serving vessel equipment repair and fabrication needs
- 1 marine towing company
- 1 barge company
| Newport News TV - Feature Videos |
| "Seafood Industrial Park History" - Newport News in Review, May 2011 |
| "Catch of the Day" - Newport News in Review, May 2011 |
Brief history of the SIP:
- 1979 – City establishes the SIP surrounding Newport News Creek, a federally-maintained navigable waterway, and seeks federal and state funds to make improvements.
- 1980 – City begins Phase I of the SIP bulkhead with a $1.5 million federal grant and more than $4.2 million in state funding.
- 1982 – City begins Phase II of SIP bulkhead with a $1 million federal grant and nearly $2.7 million in state funding. Project is coordinated with I-664 construction.
- 1992 – City begins extension of vessel mooring capacity of SIP using the I-664 wavescreen to build a mooring pier jutting into Hampton Roads Harbor.
- 1996 – As part of the SIP expansion project, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged the Newport News Creek outer harbor channel to 18 feet. Sand from the dredging was used to nourish beaches at King/Lincoln and Anderson Parks, saving the City $300,000.
- 2006 – SIP has record-breaking year in mooring fee collections.
- 2011 – Largest vessel to utilize the SIP - the 200-foot ex-USNS Stalwart arrives for work at Davis Boat Works for sailing through the Panama Canal, bound for the West Coast.
