SWAMPSCOTT – The Harbor and Waterfront Advisory Committee reported that a decrease in the harbor?s depth is the reason for the amount of boats in the harbor.Secretary Michael Garvey said in a committee presentation to the Board of Selectmen Wednesday night that the sand buildup due to migration has become such a problem that there is only five feet of water at the end of pier at Fisherman?s Beach. The committee?s plan to dredge the harbor, remove the sand (placing it either on the beach or offshore) and replant the protected eelgrass in the harbor could cost up to $6 million, said Garvey.?This community is fishing community,” said committee member Jackson Shultz. “If we can?t dredge, the fishing fleet will leave harbor and future money with the Seaport Advisory Council is out of the question.”Selectman Jill Sullivan said the $3 million overlay on the project was a “hard pill to swallow.”Shultz said the goal of the committee would be to convince grant-giving agencies that the harbor in Swampscott needed assistance by drawing them to see the harbor?s depth degradation in person. “If we invest in the harbor, hopefully the boats will return,” he said.Selectman Glenn Kessler, the committee?s liaison, said “The economic costs have to be weighed with the benefits. We have a very unique harbor unlike anywhere else on the North Shore. I came here to live by the water.”Town Administrator Tom Younger said the dredging project was just one step in revitalizing the town?s waterfront to make it a more of an economic resource. “I love Five Guys, but it is not going to bring economy back to our community,” he said among laughs. “We have ocean front, we have an area that can be a destination site. It?s part of an area we can redevelop to bring restoration in, and if the harbor fails, the area fails.”Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].