In This Issue:

• Coastal Calendar
• FEATURE: A Perfect Moment for Mid-Atlantic Sea Change
• Waging War Against Invasive Species
• Statewide Grant Program Successfully Shores Up Marina Industry
• A Natural Tourism Alternative
• Preparing Future Science Teachers for Service

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The Jersey Shoreline

Grants help marinas like this one to meet State requirements and go green.

Statewide Grant Program Successfully Shores Up Marina Industry

by Marsha Samuel, Communications Specialist, New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium/New Jersey Sea Grant

     In August, Bridge Marina, Inc., in Lake Hopatcong, was certified as the state’s very first freshwater Clean Marina and the twenty-eighth Clean Marina in the state. According to owner Ray Fernandez, a grant from the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium/New Jersey Sea Grant’s Marina Industry Enhancement (MIE) Program significantly buoyed its efforts in earning the designation. The $4,100 grant, which was awarded to Bridge Marina in June, was instrumental in helping the facility pass the rigorous Clean Marina review process.

     The grant was responsible for the purchase and installation of what Fernandez called “a lot of little things that add up to big things,” including signage to remind boaters to dispose of trash properly, and a bioremediation parts cleaner, which uses microbes to eliminate petroleum-based pollutants and other contaminants in wastewater. Bridge Marina was awarded the funding as part of the MIE Program’s ongoing mini-grant initiative, which was developed in late 2008 to assist marina owners in implementing best management practices and meeting state-mandated requirements.

     Sherman’s Boat Basin in Point Pleasant, another recipient of an MIE grant, recently installed a drainage system to reroute vessel wash wastewater from entering the waters of Beaver Dam Creek to comply with the State’s recent stormwater discharge regulations. The small marina, with 42 slips, services approximately 200 boats throughout the boating season; the grant enabled Sherman’s to service its large customer base while at the same time, protect the waters it depends on for recreation and livelihood.

     The MIE mini-grant program began with a total of $400,000, funding received as part of an agreement with the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s I BOAT NJ Program. Since last fall, when the grant program was initiated, the MIE Program has awarded over $210,000 to twenty-two marinas across the state. Michael Danko, NJMSC/NJSG Marine Recreation Agent and MIE Program Director, was thrilled by the immediate and overwhelmingly positive response to the program.