The Jersey Shoreline: Nov. 13

November 13th, 2015

Jersey-Shoreline

The Jersey Shoreline  is a weekly round-up from New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium that scours the Garden State’s press and broadcasters for reports on several key topics related to the consortium’s research and outreach.

The Institute on Science for Global Policy, in partnership with the Barnegat Bay Partnership and the Barnegat Bay Foundation will convene a forum titled “The Shore’s Future: Living with Storms & Sea Level Rise” on Nov. 20 and 21 in Toms River, the Sandpaper reported.

Dr. Michael Schwebel, the community resilience and climate adaptation specialist for NJSGC and Monmouth University’s Urban Coast Insititute will be one of the panelists during that that forum.  Read more about how Dr. Scwebel will participate by clicking here.

Aquaculture & Fisheries

Cape oyster reef shows promise, conservation groups say — More than 140 volunteers, including children, helped build the reef in April, hauling bags of shells to be set in the parallel reefs. The reefs’ hard structure was designed to reduce wave action on the beach to prevent erosion. Read more at the Press of Atlantic City.

Coastal Processes & Concerns

Cuomo vetoes natural gas port off Sandy Hook — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that he vetoed the Port Ambrose proposal, citing security risks, the potential for weather-related catastrophe, disruption of commercial navigation into New York Harbor, disruption of local commercial fisheries, and interference with a wind farm proposed for the same location. Read more at the Record via NorthJersey.com.

Analyzing 30 years’ worth of ocean debris — Evaluating data accumulated over the last 30 years by thousands of Clean Ocean Action (COA) volunteers – who have collected millions of pounds of debris from New Jersey’s 127-mile coastline – will be the focus of a new partnership between the organization and a volunteer global data team from Bloomberg L.P. Read more at the Philadelphia Inquirer via Philly.com.

Barnegat Bay study results to be released Nov. 17 — The results of a three-year study on the ecological health of Barnegat Bay are to be released this month, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection. Read more at the Press of Atlantic City.

Marine Recreation & Jersey Shore Tourism

Boat in distress makes mayday call off Jersey Shore, moors safely in Somers Point — A fishing boat that made a distress call to the Coast Guard Sunday, Nov. 8 was able to get to shore before any serious problems arose, US Coast Guard spokesman David Micallef said Monday. Read more at Shore News Today.

42-POUND BOY BEACHES 41-POUND BASS — Six-year-old Sam Adams stands 47 inches tall. Clad in over-sized chest waders that come up just below his chin, the young surfcaster from Pittman, NJ weighs in at 42 pounds soaking wet.  Read more at the Fisherman.

Water Resources & Coastal Access

Passaic River cleanup has doubters on all sides — A final cleanup plan for the lower Passaic River is expected to be issued by federal authorities shortly, but because it is already a year behind schedule, some environmentalists now say they fear the cleanup will be scaled back from the bank-to-bank dredging of toxic mud originally envisioned. Read more at the Record via NorthJersey.com.

CRITICS OF NEW WASTEWATER RULE ACCUSE DEP OF GIVING IN TO DEVELOPERS — Advocates for clean water in the Highlands and elsewhere in New Jersey are mobilizing against the Christie administration’s plan to give counties and municipalities more control over where to build wastewater plants, saying the changes would open up more sensitive lands to developers. Read more at NJSpotlight.

Wildwood hopes to convert trash to treasure on bay — Wildwood is capping its old municipal dump using 83,000 cubic yards of dredge spoils from Ocean City. It’s the first step toward reclaiming a defunct landfill that has been a blight on the bayfront neighborhood. Read more at the Press of Atlantic City.