Barnegat Bay is a small brackish

Brackish water

Brackish water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing of seawater with fresh water, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. The word comes from the Middle Dutch root "brak," meaning "salty"...

 arm of the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

, approximately 30 miles (50 km) long, along the coast of Ocean County

Ocean County, New Jersey

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 510,916 people, 200,402 households, and 137,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 803 people per square mile . There were 248,711 housing units at an average density of 151/km²...

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is a long barrier peninsula

Barrier island

Barrier islands, a coastal landform and a type of barrier system, are relatively narrow strips of sand that parallel the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a few islands to more than a dozen...

, as well as by the north end of Long Beach Island

Long Beach Island

Long Beach Island is a barrier island and summer colony along the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States...

. The bay is fed by several small rivers, including the Toms River

Toms River

The Toms River, formerly Tom's River, is a freshwater river and estuary in Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States.The Toms River rises in the Pine Barrens of northern Ocean County and flows southeast and east, fed by several branches, in a meandering course through wetland area and empties...

 and Metedeconk River

Metedeconk River

The Metedeconk River of southeastern New Jersey flows from its North Branch and its South Branch to their confluence at Forge Pond, where the river then widens and flows southeast for 6 miles/9.7 km into the Barnegat Bay...

, which empty into the bay through small estuaries along its inner shore. The communities of Toms River

Toms River, New Jersey

Toms River is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Toms River Township and is the county seat of Ocean County, New Jersey. It is part of a larger Toms River Township...

, Silverton

Silverton, New Jersey

Silverton is a neighborhood in the north-eastern portion of Toms River, New Jersey, comprising the area surrounding the Silver Bay but not including Green Island. Several bay beach clubs service the surrounding neighborhoods as recreation centers. Silver Bay Elementary School, part of the Toms...

, and Forked River

Forked River, New Jersey

Forked River is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Lacey Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the CDP population was 5,244....

 sit along the river estuaries on the bay.

The bay is entered from the ocean through the Barnegat Inlet

Barnegat Inlet

Barnegat Inlet is a small inlet connecting the Barnegat Bay with the Atlantic Ocean in Ocean County, New Jersey. It separates Island Beach State Park and the Barnegat Peninsula from Long Beach Island...

, along which sits the Barnegat Lighthouse

Barnegat Lighthouse

Barnegat Lighthouse or Barnegat Light, colloquially known as "Old Barney", is a historic lighthouse located in Barnegat Lighthouse State Park on the northern tip of Long Beach Island, in the borough of Barnegat Light, New Jersey, on the south side of Barnegat Inlet.-19th century:The development of...

. The bay is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, entered on its north end by the Point Pleasant Canal

Point Pleasant Canal

The Point Pleasant Canal is a canal in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. It was completed in late 1925 to connect the Manasquan Inlet and Manasquan River with Bay Head Harbor on the northern end of the Barnegat Bay...

 and connecting on the south end with Little Egg Harbor

Little Egg Harbor

Little Egg Harbor is a brackish bay along the coast of southeast New Jersey. It was originally called Egg Harbor by the Dutch sailors because of the eggs found in nearby gull nests.The bay is part of the Intracoastal Waterway.-External links:...

 via the small Manahawkin Bay

Manahawkin Bay

Manahawkin Bay is a bay in the U.S. state of New Jersey in Ocean County, located between Long Beach Island and Manahawkin, on the mainland. It is a part of the Intracoastal Waterway.-Sources:*...

. In a broader sense, the bay is sometimes considered to stretch to the south end of Long Beach Island and to include Little Egg Harbor.

The area surrounding the Barnegat Bay and Barnegat Inlet were described by Henry Hudson

Henry Hudson

Henry Hudson was an English sea explorer and navigator in the early 17th century. Hudson made two attempts on behalf of English merchants to find a prospective Northeast Passage to Cathay via a route above the Arctic Circle...

, in 1609, as "...a great lake of water, as we could judge it to be ... The mouth of the lake hath many shoals, and the sea breaketh on them as it is cast out of the mouth of it." The bay was originally named in 1614 "Barendegat," or "Inlet of the Breakers," by Dutch settlers, referring to the waterway's turbulent channel. During the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

, the bay was used as refuge by American privateer

Privateer

A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...

s.

Three bridges span the bay from the mainland to the peninsula: the Mantoloking Bridge from Brick Township

Brick Township, New Jersey

-Transportation:The major county routes that pass through are CR 528, and CR 549 . Two state routes pass through: Route 70 and Route 88...

 to Mantoloking

Mantoloking, New Jersey

Mantoloking is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States . As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough had a total population of 296. The borough has an estimated summer population of approximately 5,000...

 and the Thomas A. Mathis and J. Stanley Tunney Bridges

Thomas A. Mathis and J. Stanley Tunney Bridges

The Thomas A. Mathis Bridge and J. Stanley Tunney Bridge are a pair of bridges that span Barnegat Bay in Ocean County, New Jersey, connecting Route 37 in Toms River with Pelican Island and communities along the Jersey Shore on the Barnegat Peninsula...

 from Toms River to Ortley Beach. The Barnegat Division of Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge

Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge

The Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge located in southern New Jersey along the Atlantic coast north of Atlantic City, in Atlantic and Ocean counties. The refuge was created in 1984 out of two existing refuge parcels created to protect tidal...

 comprises wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

s along the inner southern part of the bay. Along the outside of the bay, on the peninsula, is the Island Beach State Park

Island Beach State Park

Island Beach State Park is a New Jersey state park located just south of Seaside Park on the Barnegat Peninsula in Berkeley Township, Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry...

. Various islands within the bay are a part of the Sedge Islands State Wildlife Management Area or Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge

Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge

The Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge located in southern New Jersey along the Atlantic coast north of Atlantic City, in Atlantic and Ocean counties. The refuge was created in 1984 out of two existing refuge parcels created to protect tidal...

. On the northern tip of Long Beach Island includes the Barnegat Lighthouse State Park

Barnegat Lighthouse State Park

Barnegat Lighthouse State Park is located on the northern tip of Long Beach Island in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. The area where the lighthouse stands was regarded as one of the most important navigational points for ships bound to and from New York Harbor. The ships were dependent...

.

The bay has been a longtime center for commercial fishing

Fishing industry

The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products....

. The village of Toms River was a significant whaling

Whaling

Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...

 port in the 19th century. While still popular for fishing, Barnegat Bay has also become a popular destination for recreational boating. The water quality of the bay has been degraded by pollution

Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...

 in the rivers and creeks that feed it. The preservation of the bay's water quality has been an ongoing effort of several public and private organizations.

The bay was immortalized by the famous writer E. B. White

E. B. White

Elwyn Brooks White , usually known as E. B. White, was an American writer. A long-time contributor to The New Yorker magazine, he also wrote many famous books for both adults and children, such as the popular Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, and co-authored a widely used writing guide, The...

, who used it as a setting for his short story "The Family That Dwelt Apart". The story appears in his collection Preposterous Parables. It was adapted into the animated short The Family That Dwelt Apart

The Family That Dwelt Apart (animated short)

The Family That Dwelt Apart is a 1973 Canadian animated short based on the short story of the same name by E.B. White, about the misadventures of a family of seven who live in happy isolation on a small island in Barnegat Bay, until word gets out that they are in distress. The film is directed by...

, narrated by White, by the National Film Board of Canada

National Film Board of Canada

The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...

.

The song "My Eyes Adored You

My Eyes Adored You

"My Eyes Adored You" is a popular song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan. It was originally recorded by The Four Seasons in early 1974. After the MoWest label balked at the idea of releasing it, the recording was sold to lead singer Frankie Valli for $4000...

" by New Jersey native Frankie Valli

Frankie Valli

Frankie Valli is an American musician, most famous as frontman of The Four Seasons. He is well-known for his unusually powerful falsetto singing voice...

 contains a reference to "walking home everyday over Barnegat Bridge and Bay". On March 22, 1975 the song became one of the Hot 100 number-one hits of 1975 (USA)

Hot 100 number-one hits of 1975 (USA)

These are the Billboard magazine Hot 100 number one hits of 1975.-See also:*1975 in music*List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1975...

.

The Trust for Public Land

The Trust for Public Land

The Trust for Public Land is a land conservation nonprofit founded in 1972 by Huey Johnson and based in San Francisco, California in the United States. TPL works throughout the United States to conserve land for people as parks, gardens, and other natural places.- TPL Conservation Initiatives :TPL...

, a national land conservation group has done extensive work in the Barnegat Bay area for over two decades, protecting over 1100 acres (4.5 km²) of land. The Trust recently began the new River to Bay Greenway, the primary goal of which is to create a 70 miles (112.7 km) multi-use recreational route across southern New Jersey from the Delaware River to Barnegat Bay.

Issues

Many parts of the bay are heavily populated with Chrysaora quinquecirrha (Sea Nettle Jellyfish) that they are unusable for many recreational activities such as fishing or swimming. The reason for this is the extremely high amounts of Nitrogen in the water, mainly due to fertilizers and other pollution. One of the hardest hit areas of the bay is the Toms River

Toms River

The Toms River, formerly Tom's River, is a freshwater river and estuary in Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States.The Toms River rises in the Pine Barrens of northern Ocean County and flows southeast and east, fed by several branches, in a meandering course through wetland area and empties...

, which most locals refuse to swim in. This in particular is largely due to the practice of motor boaters dumping their sewage into the over-policed waters near Beachwood

Beachwood, New Jersey

Beachwood is a Borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population increased to a record high of 11,045....

. There are several accounts of people, mostly children, obtaining infections such as MRSA from the waters, although they are mostly conjecture.

Islands

Middle Sedge Island in Barnegat Bay is a 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) island, 14 acres (56,656 m²) of it are developed with a single house. Other islands include: Little Sedge Island, Northwest Point Island and Marsh Elder Island. Some are privately owned and some are owned by the state of New Jersey.

External links

• State of New Jersey: Barnegat Bay Estuary Program
• Save Barnegat Bay environmental advocacy site
• Rutgers University: Barnegat Bay Resources
• Jersey City Anglers Association: Future of Barnegat Bay
• ReClam the Bay is a grass roots volunteer non-profit environmental organization which grows and plants millions of clams and oysters in an effort to reclaim Barneget Bay.
• Nitrogen Pollution Action Project Guide to eutrophication of Barnegat Bay and solutions.