July 10, 2020

“Ask a Barnegat Bay Scientist” Summer Webinars

by S-FX.com

lacey

Are you curious about what scientists are studying in the Barnegat Bay and what they’re finding? Then join us this summer for a new webinar series, Ask a Barnegat Bay Scientist. Learn about their research and ask them your questions during these interactive sessions.

 Ask a Barnegat Bay Scientist webinars are free and provided via WebEx Events. They will be every other Tuesday at 7:00 pm in July and August. The live sessions will be an hour long with time for questions. To join the webinars, you’ll need either a computer, tablet, or smartphone with speakers. With presenter permission, a link to a video recording of each webinar will be available here after the webinar.

Webinar Registration

Registration is required. Details about the webinars are provided below. To register for a webinar, click on the title to complete and submit the registration form. If you have any questions about the webinars or how to register, please contact Karen Walzer at kwalzer@ocean.edu.

July 14: Don’t Harass the Seagrass!
(View the recording)

July 28: Tuckerton Oyster Reef
(View the recording)

August 11: Fisheries in Barnegat Bay: Overview of the Biology, Assessment, and Management
(View the recording)

August 25: The Turtle Truth About Barnegat Bay’s Diamondback Terrapins
(View the recording)

Webinar Details

Dr. Elizabeth Lacey
Dr. Elizabeth Lacey

July 14: Don’t Harass the Seagrass!
(View the recording)
Is it (sea)grass or is it a (sea)weed? Barnegat Bay is home to both! Learn about the important communities these plants support and services they provide, the current status of Barnegat Bay seagrasses, and how you can help protect them. Dr. Elizabeth Lacey, a Stockton professor who runs the Barnegat Bay Seagrass Monitoring Program, will share her extensive knowledge of seagrasses.

Dr. Christine Thompson
Dr. Christine Thompson

July 28: Tuckerton Oyster Reef
(View the recording)
For the past four years, Stockton University has worked with the Barnegat Bay Partnership, Jetty Rock Foundation, Long Beach Township and Parson’s Mariculture to plant oysters on the Tuckerton Reef, a four-acre site in lower Barnegat Bay. Dr. Christine Thompson, an Assistant Professor of Marine Science at Stockton, will speak about this valuable habitat and how this project “plants” oysters on the bay bottom and monitors their success and habitat for other species. Learn more about this project here.

Zemeckis
Dr. Douglas Zemeckis

August 11: Fisheries in Barnegat Bay: Overview of the Biology, Assessment, and Management
(View the recording)
The recreational and commercial fisheries in Barnegat Bay harvest many different finfish and shellfish species, which all have their unique biological characteristics and differing fisheries management plans. Dr. Douglas Zemeckis will provide an overview of the most popular species caught in Barnegat Bay, such as summer flounder, striped bass, bluefish, hard clams, and blue crabs. Dr. Zemeckis works as the Marine Extension Agent for Rutgers Cooperative Extension serving Ocean, Atlantic, and Monmouth Counties with a focus on fisheries, aquaculture, and coastal resource management.

August 25: The Turtle Truth About Barnegat Bay’s Diamondback Terrapins
(View the recording)
Dr. John Wnek will talk about his 19 years of diamondback terrapin research and conservation on the Barnegat Bay. He will discuss ways people can help with terrapin conservation and citizen science activities.  He will also talk about habitat enhancement initiatives and share the diamondback terrapin research plan for the bay. Dr. Wnek  has worked with this species at various Barnegat Bay locations since 2002. He was supervisor of science and research at the MATES School in Manahawkin until his recent retirement. He continues to coordinate Project Terrapin, directing terrapin research on the bay, and is also a research coordinator with Save Barnegat Bay’s Student Grant Program. 

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Explore More Insights from Barnegat Bay

Dive deeper into the ongoing efforts to protect and restore our environment with more updates and initiatives that you can take part in. Check out our latest blog posts for valuable tips and insights.

View All

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.

 

“Ask a Barnegat Bay Scientist” Summer Webinars

Are you curious about what scientists are studying in the Barnegat Bay and what they’re finding? Then join us this summer for a new webinar series, Ask a Barnegat Bay Scientist. Learn about their research and ask them your questions during these interactive sessions.

 Ask a Barnegat Bay Scientist webinars are free and provided via WebEx Events. They will be every other Tuesday at 7:00 pm in July and August. The live sessions will be an hour long with time for questions. To join the webinars, you’ll need either a computer, tablet, or smartphone with speakers. With presenter permission, a link to a video recording of each webinar will be available here after the webinar.

Webinar Registration

Registration is required. Details about the webinars are provided below. To register for a webinar, click on the title to complete and submit the registration form. If you have any questions about the webinars or how to register, please contact Karen Walzer at kwalzer@ocean.edu.

July 14: Don’t Harass the Seagrass!
(View the recording)

July 28: Tuckerton Oyster Reef
(View the recording)

August 11: Fisheries in Barnegat Bay: Overview of the Biology, Assessment, and Management
(View the recording)

August 25: The Turtle Truth About Barnegat Bay’s Diamondback Terrapins
(View the recording)

Webinar Details

Dr. Elizabeth Lacey
Dr. Elizabeth Lacey

July 14: Don’t Harass the Seagrass!
(View the recording)
Is it (sea)grass or is it a (sea)weed? Barnegat Bay is home to both! Learn about the important communities these plants support and services they provide, the current status of Barnegat Bay seagrasses, and how you can help protect them. Dr. Elizabeth Lacey, a Stockton professor who runs the Barnegat Bay Seagrass Monitoring Program, will share her extensive knowledge of seagrasses.

Dr. Christine Thompson
Dr. Christine Thompson

July 28: Tuckerton Oyster Reef
(View the recording)
For the past four years, Stockton University has worked with the Barnegat Bay Partnership, Jetty Rock Foundation, Long Beach Township and Parson’s Mariculture to plant oysters on the Tuckerton Reef, a four-acre site in lower Barnegat Bay. Dr. Christine Thompson, an Assistant Professor of Marine Science at Stockton, will speak about this valuable habitat and how this project “plants” oysters on the bay bottom and monitors their success and habitat for other species. Learn more about this project here.

Zemeckis
Dr. Douglas Zemeckis

August 11: Fisheries in Barnegat Bay: Overview of the Biology, Assessment, and Management
(View the recording)
The recreational and commercial fisheries in Barnegat Bay harvest many different finfish and shellfish species, which all have their unique biological characteristics and differing fisheries management plans. Dr. Douglas Zemeckis will provide an overview of the most popular species caught in Barnegat Bay, such as summer flounder, striped bass, bluefish, hard clams, and blue crabs. Dr. Zemeckis works as the Marine Extension Agent for Rutgers Cooperative Extension serving Ocean, Atlantic, and Monmouth Counties with a focus on fisheries, aquaculture, and coastal resource management.

August 25: The Turtle Truth About Barnegat Bay’s Diamondback Terrapins
(View the recording)
Dr. John Wnek will talk about his 19 years of diamondback terrapin research and conservation on the Barnegat Bay. He will discuss ways people can help with terrapin conservation and citizen science activities.  He will also talk about habitat enhancement initiatives and share the diamondback terrapin research plan for the bay. Dr. Wnek  has worked with this species at various Barnegat Bay locations since 2002. He was supervisor of science and research at the MATES School in Manahawkin until his recent retirement. He continues to coordinate Project Terrapin, directing terrapin research on the bay, and is also a research coordinator with Save Barnegat Bay’s Student Grant Program. 

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Contact “Ask a Barnegat Bay Scientist” Summer WebinarsContact “Ask a Barnegat Bay Scientist” Summer Webinars
lacey