LEWES, Del. - Delaware beaches have seen three busy weekends since they reopened on May 22nd. Surf fishing is one of few activities that has been allowed during the whole pandemic with strict social distancing requirements that are far from being lifted.
Vehicles on the beach must be 20 feet apart. Delaware State Parks requires groups on the beach to be from the same household and to be made up of no more than 10 people. When social distancing is not possible, DNREC says face coverings should be worn.
Socially distant surf fishing is something Delaware Surf Fishing owner Rich King says he and others have always practiced, but it could get harder to practice as summer gets underway.
"I'm wearing a fishing gaiter," says King. "I wear this all the time. I don't want my nose burnt, I don't want my neck burnt."
"Weekdays I come out and there's what, 30 trucks out here? King says. "On a busy summer day there could be 200 trucks out here."
"I don't think that it could get any more crowded than it already is," says Captain Steve Savidge with the Delaware Natural Resources Police.
Savidge says the beach capacity has maxed out on weekends with the social distancing parking requirements.
"There weren't any spaces available for another car to pull in, so we had vehicles driving around for a couple of minutes before somebody left and they were able to fill their space," Savidge says.
"In 2019 DNREC established a 17,000 surf fishing permit cap and it was reached by that July. All tags were sold out by Tuesday for 2020.
"Summertime you're on top of people," says Erich Schneider. "I mean if there's an opening where you can fit a car and cast a line, you get in there."
Schneider says it'll be up to surf fishermen to do their part and follow the rules. Savidge says rangers are out to remind them and that they could check ID's to verify groups are from the same household.
"We patrol the beach, looking for surf fishing violations and just the 20 foot rule is just an addition that we have," says Savidge.
Savidge said that as of Wednesday no tickets have been issued for violating the beach parking requirements. He says the goal has been for people to voluntarily comply to the COVID-19 rules in the Delaware State Parks.