Among its many assets, the Jersey Shore boasts 200,000+ acres of salt marsh, those grassy expanses we pass on the Garden State Parkway or see when recreating in local bays and other estuaries. Salt marshes are critically important because they reduce the impacts of tidal flooding on coastal communities, drive local economies, offer a beautiful and productive waterscape for our enjoyment, and notably, provide needed habitat for wildlife—including some charismatic sharks.
Sand tiger sharks, sandbar sharks and smooth dogfish—all non-aggressive to humans—use New Jersey’s salt marshes as nurseries. Adult females give live birth and offspring spend their first few months in these protected, resource-rich areas, eating, resting, growing, hiding from predators and learning to be sharks before venturing out to the ocean. Baby sharks, doo doo doo doo!
The Nature Conservancy has partnered with Monmouth and Rutgers Universities to gain more insight into the species’ abundance and movement patterns in New Jersey’s coastal marsh environments. Scientists catch and release specimens unharmed under a special permit, outfitting them with special acoustic tags that are read by underwater sensors when they swim by (like E-Z Pass without the tolls) and monitoring the trends.
Recent data indicate that adults and young of all three shark types are spending summers year after year in New Jersey’s estuaries, emphasizing the need for the local salt marshes they rely on to be strong and healthy. Unfortunately, the opposite is occurring and many of these vital habitats are eroding, sinking and drowning from storms, rising sea levels and human activities. Without action, we could lose them.
There is hope though. State agencies regularly dredge sand and mud that have eroded from the marshes to keep boating channels passable. Historically, this sediment has been stored in tall piles on or near marshes or transported to landfills—neither ideal.
Cape May Wetlands (Oldman Creek) near Avalon, NJ. Liz Muntean and Serena Celestino, contractors for The Nature Conservancy, surveying plants and wildlife as part of a study to see how the ecosystem is re-colonizing low areas of the marsh after dredged sediments were pumped from navigation channels.
The Nature Conservancy and partners have demonstrated the success of a more beneficial use of this material: spreading it over drowning salt marshes to give grasses an elevation boost and a foothold to persist or regrow. By “keeping sediment in the system” we can simultaneously maintain clear boat channels and help salt marshes thrive into the future for people and wildlife, including sharks.
Here are some ways YOU can help New Jersey’s sharks and salt marshes:
- Spread the word about the importance of New Jersey’s sharks and salt marshes.
- Advocate with legislators in support of salt marsh restoration programs and funding.
- Abide by state boating and fishing regulations.
- Adopt a New Jersey shark! All proceeds go to coastal restoration and shark research in New Jersey.
