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Local group counts Horseshoe Crabs

Did you know that the Shark River Bay is a haven for nesting Horseshoe Crabs?  Each spring and summer the Shark River Cleanup Coalition hosts a Horseshoe Crab count in Shark River and people are encouraged to come out and learn about these ancient and fascinating creatures.

The American horseshoe crab, Limulus Polyphemus, occupies a critical niche in both the ecology of the Atlantic Ocean and in human pharmacology. Each spring as the crab comes ashore to spawn, its eggs provide food for hundreds of thousands of shorebirds flying north from South America to breeding grounds in the Arctic.  There is an amazing documentary called A Tale of Two Species about the relationship between Horseshoe Crabs and the endangered shorebird the Red Knot. In human medicine, the crab is bled, with no apparent harmful effects, to procure a compound that is used by the pharmaceutical industry to test intravenous drugs for dangerous bacteria. Yet despite the horseshoe crab’s importance, no one knew much about its population status until recently.

In 1990, Delaware Sea Grant organized the first census of breeding horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay.   The Shark River Cleanup Coalition began surveying the Shark River Bay in  2006.  Now, every spring on several peak spawning days, volunteers donate their time to count crabs on key beaches in Delaware and New Jersey.

People interested in seeing this sight first hand can come and volunteer by meeting with the survey teams at the “L” St. Beach  in Belmar at the following dates and times:

Wednesday, May 12 6:45 pm
Friday, May 14 8:00 pm
Sunday, May 16  9:30 pm

Tuesday, May 25 6:00pm
Thursday, May 27 7:30pm

Saturday, May 29 9:00 pm

Thursday, June 10 6:30pm
Saturday, June 12 7:45 pm
Monday, June 14 9:30 pm

Thursday, June 24 6:30pm

Saturday, June 26 8:00pm

Monday, June 28 9:30pm

Volunteers will learn how to conduct the survey, how to properly record data and how to distinguish between male and female horseshoe crabs. For more information or to register for the training, please contact Ed Lippincott at chefed@mac.com or call 732-681-0059

New/Used DVDS for our Armed Forces

Belmar Recreation is collecting DVDs for our Service men and women stationed at Kandahar Afghanistan. In their down time it is a great distraction to be able to check out a movie from a video library and dream of being somewhere else. For these brave men and women who sacrifice so much,  we would love to be able to assist them in building the DVD library. Any and all movies will be accepted and sent to Kandahar in care of the USMC. The DVDs will be accessible to all service personnel assigned to that base. If you have some movies that you just don’t use or wish to purchase some for the cause,  Please drop them off at the Belmar Gym at 601 Main Street or call Mike Campbell and I can pick them up if that helps. 732-681-3700 dial 9 then 211

Kayaking the Shark River

Down at the Belmar Marina, next to the charter fishing boats, is a little shack — we call it the Yak Shack. That’s the place to go when you want to cool off in the water after a hot day on the beach. Shark River Kayak Co offers guided kayak tours of the Shark River as well as the Shark River basin. You can also rent kayaks and go exploring on your own. All the kayaks are sit-on-top style, and you have the option of renting a single (for one person) or a tandem (built for two). They also offer fishing kayaks, which are set up to hold all your fishing gear and have up to 6 rod holders. Life vests and paddles are included in the rental price.

Visit www.SharkRiverKayaks.com for more information or call (732) 749-0490.

FOBH 2009 Summer Kickoff/Fundraiser

… at the Jersey Shore’s premier night club, D’Jais in Belmar

For additional information:  http://www.fobhnj.org/fundraiser.html

Event Date(s) and Time(s):

June 15, 2009 7:00 pm

“A-Cats” Await the Start of the FOBH Adult Sailing Season

Adult sailing instruction will be offered by the non-profit Friends of the Belmar Harbour this summer. The adult sailing courses will be offered twice this summer, which each set of instruction beginning with a Wednesday evening orientation course, followed by successive weekend classes of 4-hours each day, with times based on tides. The first series of classes begins on Wednesday evening, July 8 at 7 p.m. The second series starts on Wednesday evening, August 5 at 7. p.m. All classes are taught by certified sailing instructors at the Shark River Bay sailing area, which is located at Maclearie Park just west of the L Street Beach on Highway 35. All participants who complete the program will receive a certificate from FOBH.

The classes are free to active members of the Friends of the Belmar Harbour. For non-members, the fee is $195 to FOBH for the cost of instruction and $30 to FOBH for fleet maintenance. For more information, or for instructions on how to register for the class, visit the FOBH website.

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