JJ Egan has been a lifelong Jersey Shore resident, and has spent most of his time on or in the ocean and estuaries around New Jersey. This passion has lead him to pursue a career in Marine Science.

JJ originally joined the Barnegat Bay Partnership as a Field Technician in the Spring of 2022, and worked primarily as the lead on the long-term seining project. This was a perfect fit, considering his long-standing interest in estuarine fishes. He continued to work with the BBP on wetlands projects and the spring eel population study, and eventually stepped into his current role as the Field Specialist.

Before joining the BBP, JJ received his B.S. in Marine Science from Stockton University and his MS in Environmental Studies from The College of Charleston. While in Charleston, he worked at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources in the Coastal Reserves and Outreach Division.  He undertook a number of tasks, including the day-to-day operation of the Marine Gamefish Tagging Program, which would give birth to his thesis project about the state of catch-and-release fishing in South Carolina. After Graduate School, JJ worked in the Northeast Fisheries Observer Program, where he conducted sampling on gillnet, trawl, clam dredge and high-volume fishing vessels.