New Map Will Identify NJ's Best Ocean Fishing Areas

New Jersey's 127 miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline is one of the state's greatest and best-known natural treasures, drawing millions of residents and visitors to swim, fish, surf, sunbathe or stroll white-sand beaches. Every year, the ocean waters off the famous Jersey shore attract more than 571,000 saltwater anglers, and healthy marine fisheries have enabled the Garden State to lead the nation in shellfish production.

The fragile habitat of marine fish requires strong protection from the potentially adverse affects of industrial activities such as sand mining, and oil and gas exploration. To properly assess the impact of industrial activities or development projects on New Jersey's marine environment, government agencies and environmental business consultants need specific information about the location of our ocean's living resources.

Interested in making such detailed information available, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) launched an initiative to map the state's prime recreational ocean fishing areas. The study is consistent with Governor James E. McGreevey's efforts to balance strengthened protection of New Jersey's ocean waters with the use of marine resources for economic benefits.

While fish can be caught in every part of the ocean, there are specific areas that consistently produce good catches of fish, most likely because the physical characteristics of those locations provide optimum fish habitat. Historically productive fishing grounds, for example, often occur around rock piles, shallow ridges, reefs, deep sloughs and bay inlets.

Supported by a federal coastal zone management grant, the study focused on interviews with 100 experienced and knowledgeable party- and charter-fishing boat captains who helped DEP map more than 450 prime ocean areas favored by recreational anglers. Each fishing ground was plotted on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) nautical charts.

To provide easy access and use, the delineation of these ocean fishing grounds will be entered into DEP's computerized Geographic Information System (GIS), widely used to map natural resources and development on land.

The DEP also plans to make this information available on its Web site. At that point, recreational fishermen may find the prime ocean fishing grounds charts helpful in planning their fishing activities. The information can also be used in planning and assessing ocean-related development projects.