Aquatic Resource Education Program

Anglers Support Education

The Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration program (often called "Wallop-Breaux" for its Congressional authors), is funded by anglers through a tax at the manufacturers' level on fishing equipment and motor boat fuels. The program supports research and management programs, and provides funding for NJ's Aquatic Education programs. These programs make educational resources available to NJ educators and students and offer programs to the general public.

JERSEY FISHING
Come learn about the great fishing opportunities in New Jersey through the NJ Outdoors Program. Workshops cover fishing basics, safety, equipment, species identification, and how to fillet and cook your catch. Fishing clinics will be offered for both freshwater and saltwater throughout the year.
NJ Outdoors Program Workshops

Love to fish? Want to teach others? Fill out the Volunteer Application Form (pdf, 825kb) and return it to karen.byrne@dep.nj.gov.

GOVERNOR'S SURF FISHING TOURNAMENT
This event is ideal for the whole family or individuals to spend a day surf fishing on Island Beach State Park's beautiful beaches. Prizes are for the largest overall fish caught and are awarded in both species, age and gender categories.
Tournament Information

NATURAL RESOURCE EDUCATION CENTERS

Pequest Trout Hatchery and Natural Resource Education Center
Visit Pequest to learn how trout hatchery operations work, to try your hand at fishing at one of the fishing clinics offered, or to hike one of the trails. Pequest has programs for school groups as well as the public.
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Sedge Island Natural Resource Education Center
Located off Island Beach State Park in the Barnegat Bay this residential facility offers overnight programs to school groups, nature camps, and other conservation organizations. Several open enrollment programs are offered for middle schoolers up through adults.
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OPPORTUNITIES for EDUCATORS

Trout in the Classroom
This science-based program is open to educators throughout the state. Students learn the importance of coldwater conservation through a hands-on approach to learning. Through the process of raising trout from eggs provided by the Pequest Trout Hatchery to fingerling size for release, students learn about the importance of clean, cold water, not only for the trout they are raising, but also for the other organisms, including people.
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Horseshoe Crab Education

Green Eggs and Sand Workshops
At this workshop educators learn about the horseshoe crab, its relationship to shorebirds, why they're important to people, and how management decisions are made. By attending the workshop teachers receive the Green Eggs and Sand Curriculum that was developed by coastal managers and educators from Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. Workshops include presentations from experts in the field as well as a trip to a beach to see horseshoe crab spawning.
Workshop Information

Please note this workshop is offered every other year in New Jersey. The years New Jersey does not host the workshop, Delaware National Estuary Research Reserve will host the workshop.

Horseshoe Crabs in the Classroom This program is offered to classroom teachers who have attended a Green Eggs and Sand workshop. Teachers will receive everything they need to raise horseshoe crab for a year in their classroom.