Throughout July and August students and staff from Stockton University along with Kristin Adams from the Ocean County Soil Conservation District conducted aquatic habitat monitoring as part of the Conservation Opportunities Advancing Sustainable Technologies for Aquaculture Leases (COASTAL) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). A combination of fish sampling methods including seining, gill netting and fish traps were used to assess the mobile fauna that occupy oyster farms and reefs. Sampling took place at four different farm sites throughout the project area along with both restoration reef sites – Stockton University’s Tuckerton and Mill Creek Reefs. Stay tuned for updates regarding the data and analysis.
Funding for COASTAL RCPP is provided by the United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS or NRCS). The project promotes coordination of NRCS conservation activities with partners that offer value-added contributions to expand our collective ability to address on-farm, watershed, and regional natural resource concerns. The goals of the project are to promote aquatic habitat on shellfish leases, enhance water quality throughout the Coastal Bays of New Jersey (with a focus on the Barnegat and Great Bay region), and implement new conservation practice scenarios.
Visit the USDA-NRCS RCPP webpage to learn more about the grant program. For additional information, please contact COASTAL Project Coordinator, Kristin Adams, kadams@soildistrict.org.