Jersey Shoreline: Nov. 20

November 20th, 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 Barnegat Bay Study

One of the biggest coastal stories this week was the release of 10 three-year research projects on the health of Barnegat Bay. The projects were commissioned by the state Department of Environmental Protection managed in part by NJSGC. Read More …

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.

Read More …

Jersey Shoreline: Oct. 30

October 30th, 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.

It was three years ago this week that Hurricane Sandy pummeled the Jersey Shore, the banks of the Hudson River and the Meadowlands, with a massive storm surge on top of a very high tide. Largely, the state media took the chance to take stock of what has happened since.

Hurricane Sandy Anniversary

Should N.J. have left Hurricane Sandy inlet open? (VIDEO) — Today’s video focuses on Mantoloking, a town on the northern barrier island in Ocean County where Sandy cut a pair of new inlets (or re-opened an old one). There, officials made a decision to quickly close the gap, driven by a desire to restore traffic and make whole the owners of a half dozen expensive homes in one of the wealthiest towns on the state. Read more at NJ.com.

Union Beach 3 Years After Sandy: Then and Now — It has been three years now since Hurricane Sandy decimated the Jersey Shore. Union Beach was one of the towns that was hit hardest by the 2012 fall storm. Read more at NJ.com.

North Jersey’s on guard against the next superstorm — From adding a pump station in Little Ferry to elevating Borough Hall in Moonachie, officials in the low-lying areas of the Meadowlands – which suffered devastating flooding from Superstorm Sandy – say they have spent the last three years fortifying their towns to better survive another major storm. Read more at the Record.

Read More …

Jersey Shoreline: Oct. 22

October 23rd, 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.

This week, a drone pilot captured footage of a young humpback whale feeding near shore in Ocean City and other locations, according to an NJ.com report. But, capturing footage like that may be soon be illegal in the barrier island town. An OCNJ Daily report says that the City Council has approved a ban on drones in the city, voted the Garden State’s Favorite Beach town, in the first of two votes required to pass the ban.

And, she’s back. Mary Lee, the now infamous great white shark, returned to New Jersey waters this week. No one is sure where she might head next. Read all about it at NJ.com.

Here’s the rest of New Jersey’s coastal news:

Coastal Processes & Concerns

Ecosystem Recovery After Dragging Debris, Homes From Waterways — Virginia Rettig, manager of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge noted that her agency removed nearly 2,000 tons of debris left behind from Sandy. The $13 million project overseen by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, involved cleaning up over 30,000 acres of saltmarsh and coastal habitat in areas of Brick, Stafford, Eagleswood, Tuckerton and Lacey. Around 1,900 tons of debris from 22 miles of coastline was removed. Read more at Micromedia Publications.

Read More …

Jersey Shoreline: Oct 16

October 16th, 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.

Coastal Concerns

Stinging jellyfish target of Toms River cleanup — Stinging sea nettle jellyfish, the bane of swimmers and others who enjoy Barnegat Bay, will be targeted in a bulkhead and dock cleanup Monday. State officials and volunteers will scrub bulkheads and floating docks in a bid to curb the sea nettle population. Read more at the Asbury Park Press.

Is Barnegat Bay dying? — Is Ocean County doing enough to protect Barnegat Bay? That issue dominated an amicable discussion Tuesday between the Republican incumbents on the Board of Freeholders and their Democratic challengers, during an editorial board meeting at the Neptune offices of the Asbury Park Press.

Barnegat Bay Partnership Seeks Data For State Of The Bay Report — The Barnegat Bay Partnership  is seeking data for its upcoming State of the Bay Report, an assessment of the Barnegat Bay prepared every five years. Read more at Micromedia Publications. Read More …

The Jersey Shoreline: Oct. 2

October 2nd, 2015

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 news of the week is undoubtedly Hurricane Joaquin and an accompanying storm. For most of the week there was uncertainty about whether the hurricane would make landfall or remain offshore. Regardless, New Jersey will likely be impacted by the Joaquin in some manner.

In preparation for the storm, Gov. Chris Christie declared on Thursday a state of emergency, according to a report in the Record. By Friday morning, forecasters predicted that the storm would veer away from the Garden State, according another Record report. However, a Nor’easter has the potential to dump 1/2-inch to 1-inch of rain accompanied by 35-mile-per-hour wind gusts.

To help you prepare for coastal storms, New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium has curated these tools. Read More …

The Jersey Shoreline: Sept. 25

September 25th, 2015

THE FORMER OFFICERS’ club at Fort Hancock on Sandy Hook, where New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium has its headquarters, is now among the buildings available to be leased, according to a report on NJ.com.  The National Park Service, which controls the former Army artillery fort, is looking for non-profit organizations and private investors to hold long term leases on the club and 35 other buildings.

This New Jersey Monthly article on invasive species may not be about the Garden State’s coastal ecosystems, but it highlights a widespread problem nonetheless. The consortium is attacking invasive species on two fronts.

Mike Danko, the NJSGC marine recreation extension agent, is involved in a multi-state campaign to convince recreational anglers to throw-out bait packed in seaweed rather than dumping into the water.

And Dr. Louise Wooton, of Georgian Court University in Lakewood, has researched Asian sand sedge which is thriving in places like Sandy Hook and Island Beach State Park. Her research, Assessing the impact of the invasive Asiatic sand sedge, Carex kobomugi, on coastal dune communities in New Jersey, helped her craft parts of the consortium’s Dune it Right manual. Read More …

The Jersey Shoreline: Sept. 14

September 18th, 2015

The Coast Guard has had their work cut out for them. A pilot was killed when his plane crashed in the Atlantic Ocean off of Atlantic City last week. The small plane was recovered from the sea floor. A tow boat sunk off Sandy Hook, and the captain was pulled alive from open water. It’s the second vessel to sink near Sandy Hook this month.

Meanwhile, NY Waterway will launch the first ferries built in New Jersey for at least a century.

Finally, Michael Dunphy, of Virginia Beach, won his third Belmar Pro championship this week while other surfers were helping children with autism learn to surf. Read More …

The Jersey Shoreline: Sept. 7

September 11th, 2015

Aquaculture & Commercial Fishing

Prodigy to pariah: N.J. oysterman’s bizarre battle with the state — Marc Zitter, an oyster farmer in Cape May County, filed a lawsuit against state Department of Environmental Protection employees after illegal harvesting charges against him were dropped. Two years ago, conservation officers seized Zitter’s boat, ATV and tens of thousands of dollars in gear, loaded Zitter’s 600,000-plus oysters into pickup trucks, hauled them on a boat to the middle of Delaware Bay and dumped them overboard, basket by basket. Then, Zitter was charged with the harvesting from prohibited waters and arrested outside his home. He’s suing for $3 million in damages to his business. Read more at NJ.com. Read More …

The Jersey Shoreline: Aug. 31

September 4th, 2015

Mr. Andresen’s 40-foot boat, known as El Jefe, right. Credit Sally Stopper. Source: The New York Times

The New York Times sent a reporter to Belford Seafoof Co-op in Middletown in the wake of Capt. Tom Anderson’s death. The writer presents a small glimpse into the Anderson’s life, who came to commercial fishing only after he retired, and the commercial fishing port, which is a small tight-knit community.

Last week, one forecasting model predicted a New Jersey strike, but meteorologists interviewed by NJ.com were largely unconcerned. On Aug. 29, Erika dissipated over Eastern Cuba, according to a report on Weather.com.

One of the biggest digs at New Jersey is there is a cost to walk. Officials in Seaside Heights planned to charge for beach access after Labor Day, which is against custom in most locations. But they’ve reversed that decision, according to Newsworks.org. Lifeguards will remain on duty in a limited capacity through September. Read More …