Thursday, May 1, 2025

Horseshoe Crabs By the Full and New Moons


horseshoe crabs spawning   (though I object to "invade" as the description)

Horseshoe crabs are commonly found along New Jersey's Delaware Bay beaches, particularly in May and June when they come ashore to spawn. The most significant concentration of spawning horseshoe crabs occurs in the middle reaches of the Delaware Bay. Beaches in Cumberland and Cape May counties are known for high horseshoe crab activity during this time. 

May 12 is the Full Moon, and the 26th is the New Moon and next monthJune 11 is the Full Moon date this year, with the New Moon on the 25th.

New Jersey is known for its sandy beaches, and horseshoe crabs can be found spawning all across the state. The most activity by far is found on the Delaware Bay coastline, in Cumberland and Cape May counties. (A map of spawning beaches

reTURN the Favor is a collaborative effort that enables organized volunteers to save horseshoe crabs stranded on New Jersey’s seasonally closed and open beaches. Since 2013, reTURN the Favor volunteers have been rescuing horseshoe crabs along New Jersey’s Delaware Bay beaches. The program has grown significantly over the past decade, substantially contributing to horseshoe crab conservation.



Monday, April 28, 2025

Saltwater Fishing Sizes and Limits

AS the weather continues to warm, more people can be found on beaches and in the waters off New Jersey fishing.

Like all coastline states, New Jersey has regulations specific to size, seasons, possession and trip limits, quotas, tagging, reporting and more. Be sure to learn the regulations and responsibilities that apply to your interests and activities.

Marine Fish of New Jersey
There are approximately 450 species of vertebrate wildlife which can be found within the Garden State, along with 85 freshwater fish. Our bays, estuaries and marine waters can be home to 28 marine mammals and 336 marine finfish at some point during the year. This is an exceptional number of species for a state as small as New Jersey. The majority of the information in the tables below was compiled through the work of Ken Able (Able, 1992) and lists marine fish which can be found in our waters.

For full information about NJ Saltwater Fishing: dep.nj.gov/njfw/fishing/marine/

 

Sunday, April 27, 2025

Pine Barrens Wildfire

A teenager was arrested for arson last week, accused of starting the the Jones Road Wildfire in southern New Jersey's Lacey and Ocean townships. The fire is on track to be the state’s largest in almost 20 years, burning at least 15,000 acres in three days.

The fire threatened the delicate Pinelands ecosystem, displacing wildlife, and forcing thousands of residents to evacuate. Igniting on April 22, 2025, in the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area near Barnegat Township. It triggered a state of emergency, closed major highways including the Garden State Parkway, and left more than 25,000 homes without power. 

The wildfire broke out near 19-year-old Joseph Kling’s home. Prosecutors say he lit a bonfire in the Pine Barrens and abandoned the site after only partially extinguishing it. 

The Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area, a cornerstone of the Pinelands, is home to endangered species like the Pine Barrens tree frog and threatened species such as the northern pine snake. While the Pinelands' pitch pines and scrub oaks can adapt to periodic fires, the intensity of the wildfire could disrupt habitats and force wildlife into residential areas. Similar fires in Passaic County last fall saw animals seeking refuge in backyards, prompting experts to urge residents to provide water and space for displaced creatures.

New Jersey's 21 counties remain at heightened risk, with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service working tirelessly to contain the blaze. Helicopters and ground crews are deployed, but the fire's size and unpredictable winds pose significant challenges.

It's peak fire season for the area, with low humidity, winds, abd warming temperatures. New Jersey’s wildfire season, along with long-term drought, contributed to the spread. Firefighters have contained much of the Jones Road fire through controlled burns—removing dry vegetation that might otherwise fuel it. 

SOURCES

natureworldnews.com/articles/72571/20250423/massive-new-jersey-wildfire-devastates-8500-acres-threatens-wildlife-communities-amid-historic.htm

Photos: https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/04/24/new-jersey-wildfire-jones-road-fire-photos/ 

newjersey.news12.com/new-jersey-forest-fire-service-jones-road-wildfire-is-60-contained-15300-acres-burned

nbcnews.com/weather/wildfires/new-jersey-wildfire-continues-burn-thousands-evacuated-rcna202541

Thursday, April 24, 2025

Nutria for Dinner?

 


Nutria - Myocastor coypus

In California, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is encouraging people to eat nutria, an invasive rodent. They suggest that the meat is lean, mild, and tastes like rabbit. Nutria.com has recipes for nutria dishes like chili, jambalaya, and gumbo. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has promoted eating nutria as one way to combat their spread, using the slogan "Save a Swamp, Sauté a Nutria."

Nutria, native to South America, are considered invasive in California and other parts of the US, causing damage to wetlands and ecosystems.  In California, nutria are classified as a nongame mammal, and property owners or those with written permission can take them at any time by any legal means to address damage to crops or property.

In 1980, two Nutria (Myocastor coypus) were trapped in New Jersey’s salt marshes along the Delaware River in Salem County. At that time, the nutria was listed as a furbearer, so the species could be trapped during the state’s trapping season. This was done in the hope that the species would be eliminated from the state. Each year, the state includes nutria on its list of species that can be trapped, but trappers that have responded to the annual Trapper Harvest, Recreational and Economic Survey have not recorded the harvest of any nutria since the species was listed on the survey questionnaire, and I have not seen any update to that.

It seems that nutria may not be currently found in New Jersey - which is a good thing. While they are an invasive species in parts of the U.S., particularly in the Gulf Coast states and the Chesapeake Bay region, they have not established populations in New Jersey. The state’s colder winters likely limit their ability to survive and reproduce. However, if you think you've seen one, it could be a muskrat, which is a native species that looks somewhat similar.

How did they come to the U.S.? Nutria were intentionally introduced into North America because of their fur value. The first nutria were imported in 1899 from South America to Elizabeth Lake, California for fur farming. These nutria were not successful in reproducing, and very little information is available regarding their fate. 

Between the years of 1899 and 1940, ranches were established in California, Washington, Oregon, Michigan, New Mexico, Louisiana, Ohio, Utah and elsewhere. The 1930s were the boom years for the establishment of nutria ranches in the United States. After the boom years, World War II came, and nutria farming took a nosedive. 

This collapse can be attributed to poor reproduction, low fur prices, and competition with beaver pelts, which were also bringing low prices. A number of the nutria ranchers released their nutria or did nothing to recapture those that escaped due to poor holding facilities, storms or floods. 

Individuals and state and federal agencies moved nutria into at least thirty states in the United States and populations have established themselves and remain, at least in some degree in about eighteen of those states, mainly throughout the south. This is because nutrias can tolerate winters in temperate areas only. 

Currently, there is virtually no commercial fur market and only a very small meat market for nutria. This situation combined with the uncaged animals' reproductive success, has led to a population boom throughout much of their introduced range. 

Nutria have a negative impact on most other wildlife species. Because the species is colonial in habitat, nutria will over-harvest the edible plants within their home range destroying the productivity of the desirable plant species resulting in the production of less favored foods for themselves and other wildlife species. Large populations of nutria have a negative impact on the ability of the habitat to support both muskrats and waterfowl because of this habitat destruction. 

About 14 inches long from the nose to the base of the tail, an adult nutria’s tail is 12 to 17 inches long, round, and hairless. Nutria average 16 to 18 pounds in weight and may occasionally weigh 25 pounds or more. Nutria are brownish, and both sexes are similar in appearance, size, and weight. 

One male normally has 2 or 3 mates that share the same burrow. Female nutrias are sexually mature at about 5 1/2 months of age, and female nutria usually have two litters per year. Normally, female nutria are capable of producing only 6 litters in their lifetime. A nutria is old at four years of age.