Atlantic Needlefish

Strongylura marina

Atlantic Needlefish
Photo credit: SEFC Pascagoula Laboratory; Collection of Brandi Noble, NOAA/NMFS/SEFC on Flickr

Status

Endangered

Physical 

The Atlantic needlefish has a long, narrow body with a greenish back. The silvery sides have a thin, bluish-silver stripe along each side.  It can grow to 2 feet in length.  Adults have long, slender jaws filled with small teeth.  Their slender physique lends to a very quick darting swimming ability.

Image by SEFC Pascagoula Laboratory; Collection of Brandi Noble, NOAA/NMFS/SEFC on Flickr

 

Habitat

The Atlantic needlefish lives in shallow water near the shoreline and is often found near marshes, beaches, and seagrass beds right near the surface of the water.

 

Feeding 

This species feeds on shrimp and small fish, such as killifishes and silversides.  It catches its prey sideways in its scissor-like jaws.

 

Uncover Other Inhabitants

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.

 

Atlantic Needlefish

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Atlantic Needlefish
Photo credit: SEFC Pascagoula Laboratory; Collection of Brandi Noble, NOAA/NMFS/SEFC on Flickr