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Article IndexBY MICHELE S. BYERS
THE STATE WE’RE IN
COMMENTARY
Barnegat Bay needs a diet!
No, it’s not obese, but it’s fed far too many nutrients. These nutrients, mostly nitrogen and phosphorus, come from fertilizers used on thousands of lawns within the bay’s watershed. Just as too much fat and salt make a human body unhealthy, excessive nutrients are ruining the health of one of New Jersey’s most popular waterways.
Barnegat Bay is a beloved part of the Jersey Shore, a little slice of paradise for generations of fishermen, boaters, bird watchers, swimmers, crabbers, clammers and nature lovers.
A recently-released study by Rutgers University’s Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences found that Barnegat Bay and Little Egg Harbor Estuary are in serious ecological decline.
“This study paints a rather bleak picture of the ecological health of the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary,” explains lead investigator Mike Kennish, a professor at the institute. The study took place over two decades, when communities west of the bay experienced enormous residential and commercial growth.
Coastal scientists describe the bay as “highly eutrophic,” a condition caused by high levels of nutrients. Eutrophication has resulted in low dissolved oxygen levels in the water, harmful algae blooms, a loss of marine life habitat, and decreased abundance of hardshell clams.
Nutrients are flooding into the bay from the land. When it rains, stormwater runoff washes everything from lawn fertilizers to street oil into streams and rivers and, eventually, into the bay.
The nutrients create a “domino effect.” They promote algae growth, which keeps sunlight from filtering through the water, which reduces oxygen, killing eelgrass beds so they can no longer provide habitat for fish and other aquatic life.
To reverse this damage, Kennish recommended a “holistic management approach” using multiple strategies, including improving stormwater control systems, limiting fertilizer runoff, practicing smart development, preserving open space and supporting public environmental education and awareness.
