VOTING IS NOW CLOSED. PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR NJSGC’S FULL LIST OF WINNERS.
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New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium Debuts “Favorite Beaches” Poll for Summer 2020 with 94.3 THE POINT!
Current times remain daunting and uncertain for most. But take a moment to close your eyes and just imagine – sandy toes, sun-kissed skin, gentle gusts of the warm, salty air… That’s the epitome of summers spent at the Jersey Shore. Despite the future’s unknown, one thing remains for sure. The beaches await our return – under whatever circumstances that might be.
NJSGC would like to keep the traditions going this Memorial Day Weekend with 94.3 “The Point.” And with that, we’re proud to debut the highly-anticipated “Favorite Beaches” poll for 2020!
Starting today, fans get to choose their favorite local “hotspots” from a list of amazing beaches located throughout the Jersey Shore’s four coastal counties – Atlantic, Cape May, Monmouth, and Ocean. NJSGC will announce the winners around the July Fourth holiday.
First established in 2008 as New Jersey’s “Top Ten Beaches,” the survey was initially designed to encourage friendly competition and camaraderie amongst popular Jersey Shore communities along the coast. Following Hurricane Sandy, the contest was rebranded “Favorite Beaches” to diversify results so that ALL areas of the Garden State’s gorgeous oceanfront are recognized, inspiring a refreshing sense of unity and support.
An overall “top beach” is still announced, with Ocean City remaining undefeated over the past several years. But will that impressive winning streak end in 2020? Asbury Park, Seaside Heights, Margate, and Brigantine have definitely proved fierce competitors over the past few years… You decide!
Be sure to share the “Favorite Beaches” poll with family and friends, and stay tuned for when NJSGC announces the official results of 2020 later this summer.
NJSGC would like to send a huge thank you to 94.3 “The Point” for their continued support and enthusiasm!
Our mission at NJSGC is to promote the wise use of the State’s marine and coastal resources through research, education, and outreach. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more updates. Please contact NJSGC’s communications specialist for more information.
For those interested in New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium’s marine science summer day camp program, we are asking for your participation in a brief survey to help determine the likelihood of this upcoming season.
NJSGC’s education staff is currently in the midst of planning during these unprecedented times, and any thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated. Please take a moment to respond to these two questions. Also feel free to share this survey with other interested parties. The deadline to respond is Tuesday, May 26th, 2020.
Who’s up for a little marine-inspired scavenger hunt? Get ready for NJSGC’s “Sea Creatures in your Neighborhood” campaign! Here’s the plan.
Draw and color a picture of NJSGC’s “animal of the week” (more information below).
Include a “fun fact” about this creature.
Hang your masterpiece in a front window, door, or yard. Snap a photo to post on social media with the hashtags #SeaCreaturesInYourNeighborhood, #NJSGC, and #SeaGrantSTEM. Be sure to include the name of your city or town Feel free to send photos directly to NJSGC by contacting our Communications Specialist.
On your next ride or walk around the neighborhood (while respecting the rules of social distancing), take pictures of any #SeaCreaturesInYourNeighborhood you notice. Or search and discover more virtually.
Encourage friends and family to do the same and be sure to share your findings with us!
Stay tuned for next week’s ”animal of the week” and repeat. Stay safe and have fun while learning about our favorite sea creatures found along the Jersey Shore!
NJSGC will “spotlight” all submissions throughout Spring 2020.
The Common Atlantic Octopus (Octopus vulgaris) – please use this template for guidance.
“In honor of Mother’s Day this past weekend, we would like to pay tribute to one of the most dedicated moms in the ocean, the octopus! The Common Atlantic Octopus can be found living in crevices and muddy bottoms of NJ’s coastal waters. This member of the Mollusk family has greyish-yellow or brownish-green smooth skin that can change with its surroundings, which helps it maintain its private lifestyle. Like all octopuses, it has 8 arm-like tentacles with suckers to capture its prey. When a female is ready to lay her eggs, she will find a hiding spot such as a hole or other hollow area that can be sealed off with rocks, shells, or debris. Inside she will lay thousands of eggs (up to 500,000!) and stitch them together in long braids that she will then attach to the walls of the den. In the 4-5 months that it takes for the eggs to hatch, the mother octopus never leaves the nest to feed. Instead, she will vigilantly care for her young by carefully blowing water with her siphon over the eggs to keep them clean and oxygenated and protecting them from predators. After her young have hatched and she has shuttled them out of their nest, she will finally venture out in a weakened state and give the ultimate gift – her life.”
Watch this cool video excerpt from PBS’ “Nature” show entitled Octopus: Making Contact where a teenager befriends this unique creature!
Did you know…
– Considered the smartest of all invertebrates thanks to their large brains, octopuses can recognize people and explore objects through play – even opening jars and locked boxes!
– Octopuses use their tentacles not only for touching but for tasting, too!
– The Common Atlantic Octopus can grow up to 3 feet and live for 2-3 years.
– As a mollusk, octopuses are related to clams and oysters, but they have no external or internal shell.
Please visit NJSGC’s educational resources webpage for more information on this “social distancing” scavenger hunt campaign.
UPDATE – New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium’s 18th annual State of the Shore event originally scheduled for May 21, 2020 is now postponed until further notice.
Prior to the Jersey Shore’s busy summer season, NJSGC invites media and tourism representatives to learn more about the ever-changing conditions of our shoreline from a group of local scientists and environmental managers. Over the past several years we’ve hosted this press event at Tim McLoone’s Supper Club located on the iconic Asbury Park boardwalk, with guest speakers including NJSGC Coastal Processes Specialist Dr. Jon Miller and NJDEP Commissioner Catherine McCabe.
Due to the current circumstances surrounding COVID-19, organizers have made the difficult decision to postpone NJSGC’s State of the Shore event until further notice. We take the safety and health of our guests, staff, and community very seriously. We urge everyone to follow the guidelines continuously put forth by public health officials.
An official “State of the Shore” report will still be made available to the public later this month. As more beach towns start providing information and protocols in regards to social distancing, NJSGC will make the decision to release a remote State of the Shore update (likely a live broadcast from Sandy Hook). Please view coverage from 2019 here.
We will share more details as the situation develops. Please contact NJSGC’s Communications Specialist Danica Bellini with any further questions or inquiries.
New Jersey boasts some of the most picturesque beaches along the East Coast. If you have a great shot that celebrates and embraces the natural elements of the Garden State’s beautiful coastline, submit the image to NJSGC’s revamped “Favorite Beaches of the Jersey Shore” photo contest! Ultimately, the top twelve photos will be used to create New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium’s annual desktop calendar for 2021.
About the Contest:
New Jersey Sea Grant’s graphic design team will select 24 photos from all entries received up until Monday, June 1st (5 pm EST). Those finalists will then be posted on the NJSGC website where visitors can vote for their favorite throughout the month leading up to the July Fourth holiday.
NJSGC’s “Jersey Shore” Photo Contest Submission Guidelines: (If your submission does not meet the following guidelines, it will not be considered)
Only one (1) photo submission per person.
Entries should be submitted as an attachment via email to NJSGC’s Communications Specialist at dbellini@njseagrant.org.
The email entry should include: name, email, photo location, and image title.
Stick to the contest theme: Natural Elements of New Jersey Beaches. We welcome both traditional and innovative approaches to this subject, but please no family portraits.
Photo files must be .JPG or .PNG format and a minimum of 300 DPI saved at a quality setting of “10” or higher and 8 ½” for the longest side.
Images should be horizontal (landscape).
Entries will be accepted until 5 pm (EST) on June 1st, 2020.
Submit only your own original work.
Photos should be appropriate for a general audience. Explicit content is expressly prohibited.
Post-processing and digital manipulation is not allowed, but minor adjustments to contrast, filtration, subtle burning, and dodging are acceptable.
All entries become the property of NJSGC and may be used by the organization for other educational or marketing materials (the twelve finalists will receive an additional waiver for signature prior to publication of the calendar).
By submitting your photo to this contest, you grant NJSGC permission to publicly display, reproduce, and use the photographs in all manner and media for any and all purposes, including related promotional purposes, in perpetuity. You also warrant that the photo is your original work and does not violate the copyright or any other personal or property right of any third party, and that you may be required to and can obtain any and all releases and permissions necessary for its use in the production of our calendar, including releases for any recognizable faces, unless they are incidental to a larger scene (e.g., a group of sunbathers on the beach).
Winners will be announced prior to the July Fourth holiday. These images will be used to create the 2021 NJSGC downloadable desktop calendar (https://njseagrant.org/desktop-calendars/), which will also feature useful coastal facts and information to help locals and visitors learn more about and appreciate the Jersey Shore.
Who’s up for a little marine-inspired scavenger hunt? Get ready for NJSGC’s “Sea Creatures in your Neighborhood” campaign! Here’s the plan.
Draw and color a picture of NJSGC’s “animal of the week” (more information below).
Include a “fun fact” about this creature.
Hang your masterpiece in a front window, door, or yard. Snap a photo to post on social media with the hashtags #SeaCreaturesInYourNeighborhood, #NJSGC, and #SeaGrantSTEM. Be sure to include the name of your city or town Feel free to send photos directly to NJSGC by contacting our Communications Specialist.
On your next ride or walk around the neighborhood (while respecting the rules of social distancing), take pictures of any #SeaCreaturesInYourNeighborhood you notice. Or search and discover more virtually.
Encourage friends and family to do the same and be sure to share your findings with us!
Stay tuned for next week’s ”animal of the week” and repeat. Stay safe and have fun while learning about our favorite sea creatures found along the Jersey Shore!
NJSGC will “spotlight” all submissions throughout Spring 2020.
Visit our “Sea Creatures in your Neighborhood” webpage to learn more.
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Week 6 (May 1, 2020)
The Blue Claw Crab (Callinectes sapidus) – please use this template for guidance.
“Spring is a time that many land animals emerge from hibernation, and there are some similarities in the ocean. Although most marine organisms do not hibernate specifically, some (like the blue claw crab) spend the colder months buried in the ocean bottom in a dormant state. As the duration of sunlight increases and water temperatures rise in May, hungry blue crabs will emerge and swim to shallow bays and estuaries. Crabs are ambush predators and once close to shore they will lie in wait for their prey to swim or amble by. Eating clams, fishes, and other crabs cause these invertebrates to fatten and eventually molt as they outgrow their shells. It takes a few hours for the new shell to harden, and while it is “soft shell” a crab is vulnerable to predators. Therefore, blue crabs will once again bury themselves into the sandy shallow bottom until their shells can protect them.”
Did you know…
(Virginia Institute of Marine Science)
– By looking at the abdomen, you can tell the gender of a crab: males are shaped like a golf tee, while females are shaped either like a triangle (immature) or rounded (mature). The large claws on mature females also have red tips.
– Although crabs spawn in the fall, females do not lay eggs until the spring, and they can lay up to 8 million at a time!
– Male blue crabs can live up to 3 years while females only live up to 2 years.
– Blue crabs feed by catching prey with their large claws and ripping their food apart to pass into their mouths.
As a 2020 Knauss Fellow representing New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium, Victoria Luu (Princeton University) is currently working in the NOAA Office of International Affairs under Director Elizabeth McLanahan. Check out what’s going on!
February 2020
Tori started out her fellowship by jumping straight into a major international meeting. She flew to Oslo, Norway on Day 1 to participate in the biannual meeting of the Arctic Council’s Protection of the Marine Environment Working Group as part of the United States delegation. The Arctic Council is an effective high-level forum for cooperation and coordination whose work ranges from developing factsheets and reports to establishing binding treaties. By Day 5, Tori was already working actively with the team to edit a zero order draft of the Regional Action Plan for Marine Litter in the Arctic. There was fortunately some time for fun after the work was done, and the meeting participants all got to enjoy an evening at the Norwegian Maritime Museum. It was definitely an exciting start to the Knauss Fellowship!
March 2020
Almost all of the Knauss Fellows have been teleworking since Mid-March, but the work doesn’t stop! Everyone has been incredibly resourceful, and video chatting, webinars, and conference calls have become the new normal. Tori has still gotten to help staff in some high-level meetings with RDML Tim Gallaudet, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Deputy NOAA Administrator, as well as help facilitate and moderate some sessions of the Arctic Science Summit Week in its new virtual form. International collaboration is still happening within NOAA – it’s just the scheduling has been trickier not being able to be in the same time zone!
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We appreciate all Knauss fellows as they continue working hard and diligently, despite the current circumstances surrounding COVID-19. Stay tuned for more updates soon.
Click here to learn more about NJSGC’s Knauss Class of 2020, which also includes Michael Acquafredda (Rutgers University) and Brittany Schieler (Rutgers University).
Given the current situation surrounding COVID-19, the Ocean Fun Days (OFD) committee along with its sponsors have ultimately decided to hold an ALL VIRTUAL event in October 2020. All OFD partners take the health and safety of our exhibitors, guests, staff, and community very seriously. Therefore, New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium and New Jersey Natural Gas recently made the very difficult decision to cancel our annual gatherings at Island Beach State Park and Sandy Hook. Stay tuned for more information regarding this year’s virtual event as details continue developing.
Ocean Fun Days was originally rescheduled for Saturday, October 10 at Island Beach State Park and Sunday, October 11 at Fort Hancock’s Gateway National Recreation Area, Sandy Hook back in April.
We truly appreciate the hard work and cooperation of all partners, vendors, attendees, and volunteers during this time.
Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you back at the beach this fall!
Come to #OFD2020 and celebrate waves of discovery – please visit the official website for more information.
Who’s up for a little marine-inspired scavenger hunt? Get ready for NJSGC’s “Sea Creatures in your Neighborhood” campaign! Here’s the plan.
Draw and color a picture of NJSGC’s “animal of the week” (more information below).
Include a “fun fact” about this creature.
Hang your masterpiece in a front window, door, or yard. Snap a photo to post on social media with the hashtags #SeaCreaturesInYourNeighborhood, #NJSGC, and #SeaGrantSTEM. Be sure to include the name of your city or town. Feel free to send photos directly to NJSGC by contacting our Communications Specialist.
On your next ride or walk around the neighborhood (while respecting the rules of social distancing), take pictures of any #SeaCreaturesInYourNeighborhood you notice. Or search and discover more virtually.
Encourage friends and family to do the same and be sure to share your findings with us!
Stay tuned for next week’s ”animal of the week” and repeat. Stay safe and have fun while learning about our favorite sea creatures found along the Jersey Shore!
NJSGC will “spotlight” all submissions throughout Spring 2020.
Click HERE to view the latest edition of the COASTodian.
A quiet stillness and beauty pervade Sandy Hook during the wintertime. Although NJSGC’s hallways and surrounding parade grounds remain relatively desolate during these few months due to bitter temperatures and dwindling daylight hours, the ocean tides (and Sea Grant initiatives) are constantly churning.
With that being said, the staff at NJSGC can’t wait to “leap” into another busy season of STEM learning and marine science exploration! Check out our latest edition of the COASTodian newsletter (Winter 2020) to find out what’s next.
