Whaling in Historic New Jersey

The Delaware Bay and the rivers of South Jersey have been a source of  food and economic sustenance to our region ever since it was the home of the Lenni Lenape Indians who traveled to the coast to fish and gather shellfish.

Peter Watson wrote from Perth Amboy in 1684 that, "the Indians in the summer, along with their wives come down the Rivers, in the Cannoas, which they make themselves of a piece of a great tree, like a little Boat, and there they Fish and Take Oysters."

All parts of the oyster and clam were utilized: Wampum, made out of the shells, was a common currency among the Indians.


We can learn much about New Jersey history by following, literally or via writing, the historic New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route.

Image Nantucket Whaling Museum via capemay.com

The earliest recorded maritime-related industry in NJ was undertaken by the first settlers in Cape May Town, or Town Bank. It was started by whalers from New England who initially migrated south during the summer season. By the 1670s they had established a permanent residence there.


Whaling businesses such as Humphrey Hughes' Hughes and Company were established as early as 1666. Hughes, along with Nicholas Stevens of Boston and John Cooper of Southampton, were given the right to claim all beached whales.

Whale hunting was also a community effort. The whales were spotted from watch towers erected in the coastal towns. Upon sighting, six crewmen—a harpooner, boat-steerer, and four oarsmen—ran to the boats.

Although whaling today is seen as a cruel and environmentally unsound practice, in earlier times it was an economic powerhouse. And in a time when fossil fuels were not readily available, economy dictated that nearly all parts of the whale be used to some end.

Oil and bone was shipped to other colonies and Europe. Sperm oil, in particular, produced a clean and bright light, so it was used in domestic, street, and lighthouse fixtures; it was also an ingredient in soap, cosmetics, and lubricants. Bone was used in the manufacture of canes, whips, helmet frames, broom whistles, and as spines for corsets, umbrellas, and parasols. Bones and tissues were ground up and applied as fertilizer

But as early as 1700, the indiscriminate killing of cow whales caused the number of this species to decrease markedly. As a result, whalers turned to larger boats to take them farther off the coast for the hunt. This shift caused some jersey coast settlers to turn to cattle raising, farming, and trapping.

Whaling continued into the late 1700s with the last whaling transaction recorded in 1775 pertained to the leasing of Seven Mile Beach by Aaron Leaming to whalemen for thirty days.

Today, the Cape May County Museum displays whaling gear as a reminder of the once-thriving local industry.

SOURCE: Check out the history e-library on the National Park Service website.

New Jersey's Pearl River and the Paterson Pearl

I wrote recently about the Alonzo F. Bonsal Wildlife Preserve in Montclair. This urban forest is the remnants of wetlands and uplands that surround the Third River. The river is a major tributary of the lower Passaic River watershed.

The source (headwaters) of the Third River are in Rifle Camp Park in Woodland Park. The headwaters were impounded in 1899 to form the Great Notch Reservoir which greatly reduced the river’s flow.

The Third River’s current name was derived from the fact that it lies north of two other Passaic River tributaries - the First and Second Rivers.

At one time, the river was known as Pearl River due to the discovery of the "Queen Pearl," also known as the "Paterson Pearl."

freshwater mussels   via fws.gov

Freshwater pearls are found in a river’s mussel population. The Paterson Pearl was a 93 grain pink pearl and was one of the first freshwater pearls to be discovered in the United States. Other pearls were found in the Third River but none matched the Paterson Pearl.

Although freshwater mussels are most diverse in North America, where there are 281 species and 16 subspecies, they are among the most rapidly declining animal groups on the continent. The Nature Conservancy recognizes 55% of North America's mussel species as extinct or imperiled compared to only 7% of the continent's mammal and bird species.

The Paterson Pearl was discovered in Notch Brook, near Paterson, in 1857 by a carpenter named Jacob Quackenbush. It started a "pearl rush" that almost stripped the streams of Notch Brook of freshwater mussels and led to the discovery of some lesser pearls but worth around $15,000.

The pearl rush flowed over to other streams and rivers in New Jersey and it had a very negative impact on mussel populations. High quality pearls were found the Rock Road Brook, the Godwinville Brook and Cherry Lane Brook. The exploitation of the freshwater mussels in the waters of Passaic county and other counties depleted the mussel population, and within a few years the entire population of mussels were totally decimated. That eliminated the natural pearl industry.

The pearl fever spread to other states, and pearls were discovered in New York, Ohio, Texas, Arkansas, Florida, Connecticut, Mississippi and Wisconsin.

IMAGE: Royal Ontario Museum - the

pearl believed to be the "Paterson Pearl"

The "Paterson Pearl" was purchased by Charles L. Tiffany of Tiffany & Co. New York City, for $1,500, and as it was difficult to find buyers for the pearl in the United States, the company sent it to their Paris House for sale at 12,500 francs (about $2,500). The French dealer sold it to Empress Eugenie de Montijo, the Queen consort of Emperor Napoleon III, and it then became known as the "Queen Pearl" or the "American Queen Pearl" or the "Tiffany Queen Pearl."


Other extraordinary pearls are also sometimes referred to as "Queen Pearls."

Today, the mussels and pearls are long gone from these waters and the name Pearl River has been replaced by Third River as designated by cartographers.

SOURCE:
For more history on the Paterson Pearl and the resulting pearl fever, see internetstones.com

Autumn at Sandy Hook

The summer at the shore may be unofficially over, but September and October are greats months to visit.

The Visitor Programs and Events for Autumn 2012 at Sandy Hook is available as a pdf document online and updates are at www.nps.gov/gate, and on Facebook at Gateway National Recreation Area, or on Twitter, @GatewayNPS

Just a few events at the Hook:


Clean Ocean Action - 25th Annual Beach Sweep Lot Delta (Seagull’s Nest Lot) Saturday, October 20 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Spend a morning cleaning Sandy Hook’s beaches. Bring gloves, attend rain or shine, and dress for the weather. Closed, hard-soled shoes are recommended. Individuals, families, and organized groups of all ages are welcome. Groups of 10 or more are asked to register with Clean Ocean Action in advance by visiting CleanOceanAction.org. Call 732-872-0111 for more information.

Kids’ Day with American Littoral Society ALS Headquarters  (Bldg. 18) Saturday, September 15 1:30 p.m.- 3:30 p.m. Designed for children ages 4 to 8, this program will teach kids the art of seining, give an introduction to Sandy Hook, and offer an opportunity for “Fishy Fun,” the ancient art of making Japanese fish prints with rubber fish and non-toxic paint. There is a $5 fee for this program. Call 732-291-0055 to reserve your child’s spot.

Cold War Day    Parking Lot L at Horseshoe Cove Sunday, September 16 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Visit a Nike missile radar site restored to the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Visit and tour the Nike launch site. Learn about why these sites were essential to national security in the Cold War era.
Night Prowl Visitor Center Parking Lot Saturday, September 22 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Bring a flashlight for this night walk that utilizes the five senses. Free, but reservations required. Call 732-872-5970

Lighthouse to Lighthouse Tour Sandy Hook Keepers’ Quarters Sunday, September 30 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Climb the Sandy Hook Lighthouse starting at 5 p.m., then car caravan over to Twin Lights State Historic Site in the Highlands to climb the south tower there. Reservations required; please call 732-872-5970 to make yours.

Freshwater Mussels in New Jersey

Eastern lampmussel     Lampsilis radiata

In North America, there are 281 species and 16 subspecies of freshwater mussels. And yet, they are among the most rapidly declining animal groups on the continent.

North America's freshwater mussels (AKA pearly mussels) are listed by The Nature Conservancy as 55% extinct or imperiled compared to only 7% of the continent's mammal and bird species.

Freshwater mussel extinctions and declines can be attributed to several factors, including habitat degradation, construction of dams and subsequent loss of host fishes, and expansion of exotic mollusks such as the zebra mussel and Asian clam.

These mussels are sometimes referred to as nature's vacuum cleaners. They actually improve water quality by straining particles and pollutants from rivers. In addition, since mussels have a low tolerance for water-borne pollutants, they are excellent indicators of water quality.

Freshwater mussels are among the oldest living organisms on Earth. Individuals are thought to reach ages in excess of a century.

They are food sources for wildlife such as raccoons and muskrats and young mussels are eaten by ducks, herons and fishes.

New Jersey is home to twelve native species of freshwater mussels, including the federally endangered dwarf wedgemussel (Alasmidonta heterodon) and three federal species of special concern - the brook floater (Alasmidonta varicosa), green floater (Lasmigona subviridis) and yellow lampmussel (Lampsilis cariosa).

We believed that the dwarf wedgemussel was extirpated in the state, but a recent finding of live individuals in the Paulins Kill River, Sussex County has prompted intensive surveys of the waterway.

The brook floater is only known from small, most likely non-breeding occurrences in three areas of the state, whereas the yellow lampmussel is restricted to the Delaware River.

The green floater is by far the most endangered mussel in the state, represented only by a single individual in the Stony Brook, Mercer County. Other species that are under consideration for state endangered or threatened status are the eastern lampmussel (Lampsilis radiata), eastern pondmussel (Ligumia nasuta), tidewater mucket (Leptodea ochracea), and triangle floater (Alasmidonta undulata).

Searching for freshwater mussels using a viewing scope.
© Mike Davenport via conservewildlifenj.org

Since 1993, Endangered and Nongame Species Program biologists have been conducting freshwater mussel surveys for rare species and shorelines for shells and relicts (very old shells) at all survey sites. As part of the Landscape Project, critical areas for freshwater mussels are now being mapped using criteria designed specifically for aquatic species.

SOURCES:

• Freshwater Mussel Surveys http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/mussels.htm
• For more detailed information, search "mussel" on Conserve Wildlife Foundation NJ's excellent New Jersey Endangered and Threatened Species Field Guide conservewildlifenj.org/species/fieldguide/