March 2, 2026

Reclaiming Native Waters: Is the Sheepshead Here to Stay?

by JJ Egan

Sheepshead
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Sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus) are becoming a regular visitor to the Jersey shore and a popular target for recreational fishermen. They are a member of the family Sparidae, commonly referred to as the porgy family, and are related to pinfish and scup. There are three subspecies of sheepshead found throughout their range (Nova Scotia to the Carribean), with A. probatocephalus probatocephalus being the variety found along the East Coast. The other two subspecies, A. probatocephalus oviceps and A. probatocephalus aries, are found along the gulf coast and in the Caribbean respectively.

While most people associate sheepshead with the waters from the Gulf Coast to the Chesapeake Bay, they appear to be more and more numerous throughout the Northeast in recent years. While people are quick to attribute the increase of sheepshead locally to temperature changes in the water, this is actually more of a reclaiming of native habitat. In the late 1800’s through the early 1900s they were an abundant commercial and recreation fish around long island and NJ. However, these populations shrank throughout the twentieth century, to the point that biologists at the NOAA field station went as far as calling them “locally extinct” in the 1980s. This crash was thought to have been caused by a combination of overfishing, pollution and habitat degradation.

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We see juvenile sheepshead in our seining survey (thought they were conspicuously absent in 2025), typically throughout our southern sites. They usually show up in our sampling in August, when they range from 22-50 mm. At these sizes, the sheepshead relate to sea grass beds until they reach 60 mm when they start seeking out harder structure and prey. One anomaly that we see in NJ, is a lack of subadults and smaller mature individuals, despite the presence of young-of-the-year fish and the very large specimens captured by recreational fishermen.

While they have been present in NJ waters for quite some time, it was not until the last 5 years that they became a popular target for recreational fishermen. Anecdotally, this new fishing pressure has already started to take its toll, as fish on the more popular bridges have become more and more wary and difficult to catch. Since the species is currently unregulated by NJDEP, this rise in popularity has raised some concerns that these fish could be overfished again if proper precautions aren’t taken.

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UNKNOWN

There is limited data available to quantify Wetland and Riparian Buffer Preservation, or updated data to quantify Wetland Acreage. The BBP has obtained funding and will begin assessment efforts for both targets, in the next few years.

 

 Hard Clam abundance has not been updated since 2012. Recovery of the stock will be guided by the Fishery Management Plan for Hard Clams, which is under development with the NJDEP, BBP, and other organizations. Reclam the Bay and other partners have continued to plant clams for restoration purposes. Continued plantings in strategic locations which maximize survival and reproduction is one strategy to pursue in the coming years. This work can use a model developed by Rutgers with BBP funding which identified areas where planted clams could have the greatest dispersal of their larvae and thus potentially maximally contribute to the recovery of the stock.

 Water Withdrawals were over the target in the 2021 report; USGS has not yet completed its latest update, so a definitive determination of status is not available. However, additional NJDEP data show that it is likely that we continue to not meet the target. Per capita water use has gone down, demonstrating the effectiveness of water-saving appliances and practices, but that decrease has been offset by population gains. 


IN PROGRESS

New maps quantifying Submerged Aquatic Vegetation extent were developed, but poor image clarity resulted in a high degree of uncertainty in the total acreage. NJDEP and Rutgers are working to resolve the uncertainty of these maps, and improve the total acreage estimate. Funding has also been obtained for further research and restoration activities. Several groups are developing potential restoration actions.

The USGS has completed the first phase of its study to identify minimum ecological flows in select Barnegat Bay tributaries. USGS scientists compared streamflow statistics between historical and current time periods to better understand trends in watershed flow conditions. This work provides a foundation for developing ecological flow targets in the Barnegat Bay watershed.  Similar to SAV extent, funding (approximately $450K) has been obtained by the BBP to complete the remaining phases necessary for threshold determination.

 

TARGETS ACHIEVED

No targets can be considered “Achieved” at this time.

 

NOT ACHIEVING

Several Public Swimming Beaches exceeded their safe swimming standards more frequently than during their baseline time period (2016-2018).

While most beaches are routinely safe for swimming, several problematic areas such as Beachwood, Hancock, Windward, and several lake beaches need track-down studies and restoration to pinpoint and address sources of bacteria.

Acres of Approved Shellfish Waters decreased from the last report. While this decrease was small, it represents a loss of previously approved waters. Similar to public beaches, track-down studies and restoration work are needed to pinpoint and address sources of bacteria.

 

Reclaiming Native Waters: Is the Sheepshead Here to Stay?

c675d131 9692 4003 8820 0e5964a3fd12

Sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus) are becoming a regular visitor to the Jersey shore and a popular target for recreational fishermen. They are a member of the family Sparidae, commonly referred to as the porgy family, and are related to pinfish and scup. There are three subspecies of sheepshead found throughout their range (Nova Scotia to the Carribean), with A. probatocephalus probatocephalus being the variety found along the East Coast. The other two subspecies, A. probatocephalus oviceps and A. probatocephalus aries, are found along the gulf coast and in the Caribbean respectively.

While most people associate sheepshead with the waters from the Gulf Coast to the Chesapeake Bay, they appear to be more and more numerous throughout the Northeast in recent years. While people are quick to attribute the increase of sheepshead locally to temperature changes in the water, this is actually more of a reclaiming of native habitat. In the late 1800’s through the early 1900s they were an abundant commercial and recreation fish around long island and NJ. However, these populations shrank throughout the twentieth century, to the point that biologists at the NOAA field station went as far as calling them “locally extinct” in the 1980s. This crash was thought to have been caused by a combination of overfishing, pollution and habitat degradation.

12bff842 0ce3 4c4d 8740 0ba83bce4408

We see juvenile sheepshead in our seining survey (thought they were conspicuously absent in 2025), typically throughout our southern sites. They usually show up in our sampling in August, when they range from 22-50 mm. At these sizes, the sheepshead relate to sea grass beds until they reach 60 mm when they start seeking out harder structure and prey. One anomaly that we see in NJ, is a lack of subadults and smaller mature individuals, despite the presence of young-of-the-year fish and the very large specimens captured by recreational fishermen.

While they have been present in NJ waters for quite some time, it was not until the last 5 years that they became a popular target for recreational fishermen. Anecdotally, this new fishing pressure has already started to take its toll, as fish on the more popular bridges have become more and more wary and difficult to catch. Since the species is currently unregulated by NJDEP, this rise in popularity has raised some concerns that these fish could be overfished again if proper precautions aren’t taken.

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Sheepshead