While the heavy lifting may be done at the Littoral Society's project in Forked River Beach, NJ, work at the site will continue for the foreseeable future.
In addition to monitoring and maintenance of the living shoreline project, which is designed to protect homes and habitat along an eroding section of Barnegat Bay's shoreline while also reducing the amount of sediment getting into the water, Littoral Society staff will continue meeting with and speaking to residents and officials from the surrounding community. Reef building was completed on Oct. 16-17, with installation of the final sections by our contractor Albert Marine Construction. The protective reef now runs just offshore from near the mouth of Forked River in the north, to a lagoon located at the southern end of Beach Boulevard. Those final reef sections mark the first use of recycled shells from the Littoral Society's "Shuck It, Don't Chuck It!" program in a major restoration project. The reef has also been seeded with 32 million live oyster, as part of the Littoral Society's effort to help bring those bivalves to New Jersey's coastal waters. The fruits of that effort are already evident: during this year's monitoring at the site, live oysters were found living on the reef. Female horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay will be protected for another year, according to a recent announcement from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).
Last year, tens of thousands of people like you spoke out against a plan to increase the bait harvest of horseshoe crabs in the Delaware Bay and your voices helped convince the ASMFC not to lift its decade-long moratorium on harvesting female crabs. The American Littoral Society would like to thank you for helping us protect the Delaware Bay's horseshoe crab population and the shorebirds which rely on the crab's protein-rich eggs to fuel their migratory journeys, such as the Rufa Red Knot. Red Knot populations collapsed during the 1990s, at the same time horseshoe crab populations plummeted due to unregulated overfishing, and the birds remain on the U.S. threatened species list. Unfortunately, along with the good news came some bad: the Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board plans to increase the harvest limits for male horseshoe crabs for the 2024 season because - according to their new Adaptative Resource Management (ARM) Framework, which was adopted last year - the population of both female and male horseshoe crabs in the Delaware region is at its highest level since 2003.
In addition to the party, which featured live music by the award-winning duo of Ryan Gregg (The Shady Street Show Band and Ocean Avenue Stompers) and Deseree Spinks (Des and the Swagmatics), the evening included great conversation about the Littoral Society's mission and an online auction that concluded on Saturday, September 30. Among the items up for bidding were tickets to a New York Giants game, fabulous art by local artists, and amazing experiences (such as a private moth party with expert lepidopterist Blaine Rothauser). The event benefited the American Littoral Society's ongoing efforts to support a safe and healthy coast for marine life and humans alike; provide education for people of all ages and backgrounds; and continue advocacy for public access to the coast, natural solutions to the effects of climate change, and responsible environmental policy at the local, state, and national levels. A rainy Saturday didn't dampen spirits or wash out activities during the Littoral Society's 2023 Fall Cape May Wildlife Weekend on October 12-15.
It certainly helped that every other day had near perfect seasonal weather but even amidst a downpour on Saturday, trip attendees still ventured into the wild to marvel at the incredible birds and wildlife that visit or reside in this picturesque part of southern New Jersey. As expected, bird watching didn't disappoint. Cape May is one of the top sites on the east coast for witnessing fall bird migration and trip participants counted 86 different species - including a number of Terns, Teals, and Herons, as well as numerous shorebirds, dozens of ducks (including two Pied-billed Grebe and an American Coot), a Northern Harrier (a ground-nesting raptor with a flat, owl-like face) and three Brown Pelicans. Speaking of raptors, a large variety were sighted (including procrastinating Osprey, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Merlin, Broad-Winged Hawks, two Bald Eagles and a Peregrine Falcon). Many could be seen every day hanging out on light poles and buildings or overhead catching thermals with Turkey Vultures. (See the eBird trip report). Recycled Shells Heading Back to Bay As Littoral Society Completes Forked River Restoration Project10/12/2023
After years of collecting shells, we're ready to return a significant amount of them to a New Jersey bay in what will be the American Littoral Society's first use of recycled shells in a major restoration project.
The shells will be moved from our curing site on Sandy Hook (inside Gateway National Recreation Area) to our Forked River Beach living shoreline restoration project in Lacey Township, NJ on Thursday, October 12. The transportation will also highlight a great public-private partnership, with the construction company currently working on the bridge between Rumson and Sea Bright (Richard E. Pierson Construction Co., Inc.) volunteering to load the shell from the curing site into a truck provided by Lacey Township. “This is a perfect example of how a public/private partnership should work,” said Capt. Al Modjeski, Habitat Restoration Program Director for the American Littoral Society. “It shows true project cohesiveness and that we all have the ability to care for the coast by and improve ecology, habitat, and community resiliency.” The installation of the shells from the Littoral Society's "Shuck It, Don't Chuck It!" (SIDCI) program (on October 16-17) and a volunteer event on Wednesday, October 18, will also mark the completion of the project to protect homes and habitat along an eroding section of Barnegat Bay shoreline. The project, which entailed building reef segments that have been seeded with 32 million live oyster, began in 2021 with the help of partners and funders including: the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), New Jersey Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership, Lacey Township, Bayside Beach Club, Stockton University, Albert Marine Construction, the US Fish & Wildlife Service, ReClam the Bay, Parsons Seafood, and Wildlife Restoration Partnerships. The sun was shining on Sunday, August 27, and the sea breeze whispered secrets of adventure as 31 eager anglers gathered on board the Mi-Jo 2 for the American Littoral Society's Annual Fluke Tagging Trip. The day delivered some unforgettable memories and contributed to the sustainable fishing efforts of our fish tagging program.
Each angler played a vital role in this mission but some of them stood out with remarkable tagging achievements:
While tagging was the primary goal of the trip, we couldn't help but be thrilled by the quality of the fish we encountered. In total, 12 fluke over 17 inches were reeled in. Among these, the largest fluke caught measured an impressive 22.5 inches. The turn of the season is a good opportunity to recap some of the summer work from the Littoral Society's Delaware Bayshore office including the accomplishments of the dedicated R-Corps interns and the unveiling of a new rain garden at an elementary school in Vineland, NJ.
R-Corps: A Summer of Conservation Nine passionate and driven young people joined the Delaware Bay R-Corps team this summer. Their collective efforts spanned a diverse range of projects, each contributing to the larger mission:
Recently the "Shuck It, Don't Chuck It!" program, the American Littoral Society's shell recycling initiative, collected its millionth shell. That shell also brought our overall total of shells recycled to nearly 37,000 pounds this year and 32 tons since the program launched in 2015.
This incredible milestone wouldn't have been possible without the dedication and support of our amazing supporters. Funded by grants and driven in large part by volunteer oyster wranglers and community helpers - such as participating restaurants - each shell collected represents a step towards the long-term goal of re-oystering New Jersey's bays and estuaries. The shells we collect take a full-circle journey, from briny waters to your plate, then to our bins, and eventually back to our shorelines where they can help spawn more oysters. By recycling these shells, we're not only reducing waste that ends up in landfills but also providing essential material for the Littoral Society's shoreline restoration projects such as the reefs we've built to protect locations along Delaware and Barnegat Bay. These reefs also play a role in improving water quality and providing habitat for marine life. On Saturday, September 16, the Northeast Chapter of the American Littoral Society kicked off the 38th Annual New York State Beach Cleanup (NYSBC) season by hosting a beach cleanup just north of Broad Channel, NY. On the same day, NYSBC volunteers gathered at dozens of beaches around the state, from Long Island to New York's Great Lakes.
These cleanups were timed to coincide with International Coastal Cleanup Day and World Cleanup Day (both recognized on the third Saturday of September). International Coastal Cleanup Day began in 1986 through the Ocean Conservancy and quickly grew into an global effort to rid beaches of garbage while also raising awareness about preserving and protecting the world’s oceans and waterways. World Cleanup Day is coordinated by the global organization Let's Do It! World, which is headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia. The Jamaica Bay cleanup was sponsored by Resorts World NYC, New York City’s first and only casino-hotel, and Eureka (founded in 1909 as one of the first US vacuum cleaner brands) through the company's #EurekaWavesOfFuture campaign. The #EurekaWavesOfFuture initiative highlights the pressing concern of marine pollution. by Toni Rose Tablante, American Littoral Society Habitat Restoration Technician The Delaware Bay is home to the largest population of spawning horseshoe crabs [Limulus polyphemus] in the world. The crabs are a keystone species because they and their eggs are crucial to an entire ecosystem that includes migrating shorebirds, various fish, numerous aquatic invertebrates, and other marine life.
The American Littoral Society has been restoring horseshoe crab habitats along the New Jersey side of the Delaware Bay since Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012. The work also includes biological assessments at some beaches to help document how the work is affecting the restoration site and aquatic creatures. The 2023 reef biodiversity monitoring season recently began. Read on to learn more about the monitoring process. |
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