Science and Technical Advisory Committee

The principal purpose of the STAC is to provide the Barnegat Bay Partnership (BBP) with objective, expert advice, and peer review for overall scientific and technical matters related to National Estuary Program activities and goals, such as those specified in the Partnership’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. It works with the Advisory Committee to identify and prioritize science and technical needs within the Barnegat Bay, and assists with the BBP office to raise awareness and resources for addressing these needs. Members of the STAC also participate and facilitate communication among other specialized science and technical committees, and recommends forming and disbanding new STAC sub-committees and technical workgroups as needed, i.e. Pathogen Work Group, Shellfish Work Group, Stormwater Work Group, and Estuarine Habitat Work Group. Learn more about STAC members’ areas of expertise.

Committee Members

Gregg Sakowicz (Chair), Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JC NERR)

Andrew McGowan, Barnegat Bay Partnership

Dr. L. Stanton Hales, Jr., Barnegat Bay Partnership (ex officio)

Dr. Elizabeth Lacey, Stockton University

Rob Karl, Brick Municipal Utilities Authority

Will Ruocco, Brick Municipal Utilities Authority (Alternate)

Dr. Swarna Muthukrishnan, Clean Ocean Action

Dr. Tom Grothues, JC NERR (Alternate)

Jim Nickels, Monmouth University

Kimberly Cenno, NJ Department of Environmental Protection

Bob Schuster, NJ Department of Environmental Protection (Alternate)

Dr. Peter Rowe, New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium

Michael J. Danko: New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium (Alternate)

Jessie Murray, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

Keith Hanson, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (Alternate)

Colleen Adams, Ocean County College

John Protonentis, Ocean County Department of Health

Victoria Pecchioli, Ocean County Department of Planning

Christine Raabe, Ocean County Soil Conservation District

Kristin Adams, Ocean County Soil Conservation District (Alternate)

Robert Shertenlieb, Ocean County Utilities Authority

Keith Marcoon, Ocean County Utilities Authority (Alternate)

Dr. Heidi Yeh, Pinelands Preservation Alliance

Charles Caruso, Esq., Pinelands Preservation Alliance (Alternate)

Bill Walsh, ReClam the Bay

Dr. Steven Yergeau, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Ocean County

David Steinmann, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Barbara Spinweber, US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2

Joseph Smith, US Fish and Wildlife Service

Danielle McCulloch, US Fish and Wildlife Service

Christine Wieben, US Geological Survey

Dr. Shuting Liu, Kean University

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.