March 26, 2014 — The State of New Jersey has 130 miles of sandy beaches along the Atlantic Ocean. These beaches are constantly eroding, as waves and wind move the sand around. To protect local communities from storm and flood damage and to provide recreational opportunities for visitors to the Jersey shore, the Federal, State and local governments must regularly replenish the supply of sand.
For decades, the US Army Corps of Engineers has been dredging sand from "borrow areas” in the Atlantic Ocean and placing it on beaches. Local communities also shore up beaches by trucking in sand or dredging sand from back bays. NOAA Fisheries’ Habitat Conservation Division has a role in these projects. We provide advice on the best ways to rebuild depleted coastal beaches while conserving important living marine resources. We recommend ways to minimize impacts to important offshore habitats that might be impacted by sand mining to restore these coastal areas.
We’ve been working with the Corps and the State of New Jersey on beach re-nourishment and shore protection since the 1980s. We’ve consulted on various projects in northern Monmouth County, on Long Beach Island and in Ocean City.