Update: NJ Assembly passes shark fin ban Thanks to all who helped by contacting NJ state legislators. The General Assembly passed the shark fin ban on Monday, Nov. 25 by a vote of 53-18!
A bill to ban shark fin possession and trade in New Jersey will be voted on by the full General Assembly on Monday, Nov. 25, 2019. The bill is supported by the American Littoral Society and other shark conservationists. We believe enacting A4845 will prevent anyone in New Jersey from contributing to a fishing practice that is decimating shark populations. Please contact your member of the General Assembly and urge them to support this legislation. Click here to find your state legislator and their contact information. "The Littoral Society and numerous other organizations are deeply concerned with the decline of shark populations, which are crucial to the health of the ocean," said Tim Dillingham, Executive Director of the American Littoral Society. "We have been working for years to ban the possession, sale, trade or distribution of shark fins in order to help shark populations recover.
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 NJ Congressman Jeff Van Drew (center), joined American Littoral Society staff and military veterans at the Littoral Society's 5th Annual Veterans Day on the Bay. At the American Littoral Society's 5th Annual Veterans Day on the Bay celebration the Society dedicated the reefs built at Cooks Beach to the US Navy.
The intertidal reefs at Cooks Beach were built by volunteers and Littoral Society staff in August 2019 during the Littoral Society's annual Shell-A-Bration. Over the past five years the Society has engineered eight reefs designed to preserve Delaware Bay beaches restored following Superstorm Sandy. Attendees at the event were once again given the opportunity to honor the veterans they hold dear by inscribing that special person's name on a shell that was placed on the reefs. The Littoral Society was honored to be joined NJ Congressman Jeff Van Drew.   Littorally Local won't just feature a Navesink cruise, great food from Fresh Bistro and Honey Brook Organic Farm, live music, and an open bar. We also have some great items on sale in a silent auction. Among those items: - Wine baskets provided by American Wine Society, New Jersey Chapter - Four day weekend at Building 21 on Sandy Hook (Sandyhookrentals.com) - NY Giants vs. Miami Dolphins tickets (2) with parking pass - Glass blowing at Hot Sand in Asbury Park - Variety of Sea Bright restaurant gift cards - 11x17 framed "littoral" photo by award-winning photographer Don Riepe - Pilates package at The Pilates Project - Coolsculpting with Dr. Peter Hetzler - Botox with Dr. Peter Hetzler   Littorally Local, will be more than a fun evening with great food.
Besides a Navesink River cruise, that will explore the estuary's natural history and wildlife, participants will learn about the American Littoral Society’s work in New Jersey, New York and beyond. In addition to Operation Oyster, the Society's effort to bring oysters back to New Jersey's waters, we'll be talking to folks about "Shuck It, Don't Chuck It!," our shell recycling program in New Jersey's restaurants; our work restoring marshes and shorelines along Delaware, Barnegat and Jamaica Bay to help prepare our coastlines to weather future storms; our education programs such as Sea Quest, Grasses in Classes, and Close Encounters with the Coast that aim to provide a hands-on environmental experience for children and adults; as well as our ongoing efforts to protect beach access in the state and promote ocean planning around the United States. But make no mistake, there will be good food and fun, too. Click here for more info and to buy your ticket.  This year we're thinking local, littorally local.
Since 1961, the American Littoral Society has been caring for the coast in New Jersey and beyond. Based on Sandy Hook, we see the beauty and feel the energy that draws people to coastal communities. We work to protect and restore that splendor. We also strive to bring people onto the sand and into the water so they can gain a deeper understanding of how nature works on our beaches and in our bays. You can help us continue and expand that work by attending Littorally Local, an evening of food and fun that will celebrate the shore and everything it has to offer, while supporting our efforts to protect it.  Saturday, September 21
Times and places vary Click here to volunteer You can help keep New York state's beaches looking lovely by joining in a beach cleanup on in September or October. International Coastal Cleanup Day is September 21. The American Littoral Society's Northeast Chapter organizes New York's annual participation in the International Coastal Cleanup. Hundreds of volunteers help clean shorelines and document the debris throughout New York state. The collected data helps inform ocean pollution protocols and regulations. The Society has led the New York State Beach Cleanup for more than thirty years. During the 2018 NYS Beach Cleanup 7,053 volunteers in 22 counties removed 45,311 pounds of debris along 194 miles of shoreline. Go to: www.nysbeachcleanup.org to register as a beach captain or to volunteer for a cleanup near you. Cleanups can be scheduled for any day in September and October.  The American Littoral Society could use some help finishing the three reefs that were started at Cooks Beach, near Cape May Courthouse, NJ, during the recent Shell-A-Bration event (Map).
Because tides affect when the work can be done, we're looking for help on Tuesday August 27 at 11 a.m. and Wednesday, August 28 at noon. If you'd like to lend a hand, contact Shane Godshall, Delaware Bayshore Habitat Restoration Coordinator, by emailing Shane@littoralsociety.org. Click link for more information about the project: http://ow.ly/l2v950vHtaW  Representatives from the American Littoral Society stood beside NJ Congressman Frank Pallone on Thursday, Aug. 22, to voice strong support for the Living Shorelines Act of 2019.
During a press conference in Keyport, NJ's Cedar Street Park Beach, which is the site of a living shoreline project, the Society joined other environmental organizations and representatives for coastal communities in asking that US Congress pass the bill, which is critical to help protect our nation’s coasts and estuaries, as well as coastal communities and the economies they support. H.R. 3115 would provide $50 million in federal funds that would be matched by state and local governments, as well as the NGOs applying for grants and projects. Priority consideration would be given to projects in areas where a federal disaster has been declared in the past 10 years or that have a history of flooding, which includes New Jersey’s coastal towns. The bill also provides for project monitoring to measure and help determine best practices for future living shoreline projects. It would be administered through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to assist states, localities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in constructing living shorelines. Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) will introduce the companion bill in the Senate.  We need your help! We've got a big job lined up for Saturday that is impossible to do alone.
On August 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the American Littoral Society will hold the Fifth Annual Shell-A-Bration at Cooks Beach, near Cape May, NJ (Map). There will be food, fun, and family friendly activities, along our biggest reef-building project yet. This week 80 pallets of whelk shell arrived and, with the help of Cape May County's generously loaned Mudd-Ox Ultra-Terrain vehicle, those were transported to the reef building site On Saturday, volunteers and staff will turn those bags of shell into three brand new reefs that will help protect the beach from storms, erosion and rising sea levels (stuff environmentalists refer to as adaptation and resiliency), while also providing habitat (places to live) for fish and other marine creatures. The Shell-a-Bration will be a picnic-style event, so please bring blankets and chairs. In order to ensure we provide adequate food and drink, we ask that attendees please RSVP.  On Thursday, July 25, at 10 a.m. the American Littoral Society and supporters used a parade of boats to carry the latest batch of oyster babies from our nursery in Ocean Gate, NJ to a reef site off Good Luck Point in Barnegat Bay.
"The oyster nursery and parade are part of the Littoral Society's Operation Oyster program, which aims to improve water quality in New Jersey's bays and estuaries, as well as improve coastal resiliency through re-establishing natural oyster reefs" said Capt. Al Modjeski, the Habitat Restoration Program Director for the Littoral Society. "This program not only restores a lost part of our coastal ecology, it directly engages the community in conservation through activities like the Parade of Boats." The Parade of Boats will also be a celebration of the expansion of the Littoral Society's work in Barnegat Bay, through a $1 million Water Quality Restoration Grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. That grant is part of $10 million grant program from the state aimed at improving Barnegat Bay. |
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