Barnegat Bay is a small

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

arm of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, approximately long, along the coast of

Ocean County Ocean County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the southernmost county in the New York metropolitan area. The county borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east and in terms of total area is the state's largest county. Its co ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is separated from the Atlantic by the long

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 ...

(colloquially called a "

barrier island Barrier islands are a Coast#Landforms, coastal landform, a type of dune, dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of an ...

"), as well as by the north end of

Long Beach Island Long Beach Island (colloquially known as LBI, The LBI Region, or simply The Island) is a barrier island and summer colony along the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, on the Jersey Shore. Aligned north to south, ...

, popular segments of the

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore, commonly called the Shore by locals, is the coast, coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The term encompasses about of shore, oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy in the n ...

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

Toms River The Toms River is a freshwater river and estuary in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. The river rises in the Pine Barrens of northern Ocean County, then flows southeast and east, where it is fed by several tributaries, and flows in a ...

, the Forked River, the

Metedeconk River The Metedeconk River is a tributary of Barnegat Bay in Ocean County, New Jersey, Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States. The Metedeconk River flows from its U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline ...

, Cedar Creek, Oyster Creek, Mill Creek, Westecunk Creek, and Tuckerton Creek, all of which empty into the bay through small estuaries along its inner shore. The communities of

, Silverton, and Forked River sit along the river estuaries on the bay. The bay connects with the ocean through the

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. The Barnegat Lighthouse sits at the northern ...

, along which sits the

Barnegat Lighthouse Barnegat Lighthouse (or Barnegat Light, locally nicknamed 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, Ocean County, New Jersey, Uni ...

. The bay is part of the

Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following th ...

, entered on its north end by the

Point Pleasant Canal The Point Pleasant Canal is a canal in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, forming a segment of the Intracoastal Waterway. It connects the Manasquan River and Manasquan Inlet to Barnegat Bay, providing a navigable route for vessels along the Jersey Shore ...

and connecting on the south end with

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 The Intracoa ...

via the small Manahawkin Bay. In a broader sense, Barnegat Bay is sometimes considered to stretch to the south end of Long Beach Island and to include Little Egg Harbor. Three bridges span the bay from the mainland to the peninsula: the Mantoloking Bridge from

Brick Township Brick Township is a township situated on the Jersey Shore within Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city retained its position as the state's 13th-most-populous municipality,

to Mantoloking, and the

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 Barnega ...

from Toms River to Ortley Beach. The Barnegat Division of

Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge The Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge located in southern and south-central New Jersey, along the Atlantic coast, north of Atlantic City, in Atlantic and Ocean counties. The refuge was created in 1 ...

comprises

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s along the inner southern part of the bay. Along the outside of the bay, on the peninsula, is the

. Various islands within the bay are a part of the National Wildlife Refuge or the Sedge Islands State Wildlife Management Area. The northern tip of Long Beach Island includes the

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 ...

History

The area surrounding Barnegat Bay and Barnegat Inlet was described by

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the Northeastern United States. In 1607 and 16 ...

, 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 Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

explorers of the coastline, referring to the waterway's turbulent channel. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, the bay was used as refuge by American

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s. The bay has been a longtime center for

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

. The village of Toms River was a significant

whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

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 is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

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 Elwyn Brooks White (July 11, 1899 – October 1, 1985) was an American writer. He was the author of several highly popular books for children, including ''Stuart Little'' (1945), ''Charlotte's Web'' (1952), and '' The Trumpet of the Swan'' ...

, who used it as a setting for his short story "The Family That Dwelt Apart", published in 1937 as the third story in his long running ''Preposterous Parables'' series in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''. It was adapted into the

animated short Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

The Family That Dwelt Apart ''The Family That Dwelt Apart'' is a 1973 animated short film created by Yvon Malette for the National Film Board of Canada. Summary Based on the 1937 short story "Preposterous Parables; III The Family Which Dwelt Apart" by E. B. White, the film i ...

'', narrated by White, by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

. The song "

My Eyes Adored You "My Eyes Adored You" is a 1974 song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan. It was originally recorded by The Four Seasons (band), The Four Seasons in early 1974. After the Motown label balked at the idea of releasing it, the recording was sold to l ...

", by New Jersey native

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer and occasional actor, best known as the frontman (lead singer) of The Four Seasons (band), the Four Seasons. He is known for ...

, contains a reference to "walking home every day over Barnegat Bridge and Bay". On March 22, 1975, the song became a ''Billboard'' No. 1 hit.

The Trust for Public Land The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...

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

Issues

In the 2000s and 2010s, scientists and residents have drawn attention to fish kills,

algal bloom An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in fresh water or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term ''algae'' encompass ...

s, low

dissolved oxygen Oxygen saturation (symbol SO2) is a relative measure of the concentration of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium as a proportion of the maximal concentration that can be dissolved in that medium at the given temperature. It can ...

levels, loss of habitat, diminishing clam populations, and the rise in stinging ''

Chrysaora quinquecirrha The Atlantic sea nettle (''Chrysaora quinquecirrha''), also called the East Coast sea nettle in the United States, is a species of jellyfish that inhabits the Atlantic coast of the United States. Historically it was confused with several '' C ...

'' (sea nettle jellyfish) populations in the bay, mainly due to high levels of nitrogen from fertilizer runoff. The

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...

monitors the health of the bay by testing at four locations as frequently as once a week in the summer months, when surface water can reach . Community members have also expressed concern over the impact of stored

radioactive material A radionuclide (radioactive nuclide, radioisotope or radioactive isotope) is a nuclide that has excess numbers of either neutrons or protons, giving it excess nuclear energy, and making it unstable. This excess energy can be used in one of three ...

and

thermal pollution Thermal pollution, sometimes called "thermal enrichment", is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature. Thermal pollution is the rise or drop in the temperature of a natural body of water caused by h ...

at the

Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Station is an inactive single unit 636 MWe boiling water reactor power plant in the United States. The plant is located on an site adjacent to Oyster Creek in the Forked River section of Lacey Township in Ocean Co ...

in Lacey Township. The plant which was built in 1969 was formerly the oldest operating nuclear power plant in the United States. The plant was decommissioned on September 25, 2018.

Pollution

A 2008 baseline sediment pollution study of 15 locations within Barnegat Bay - Little Egg Harbor area including sites at Mill Creek, Cedar Run, Parker Run measured total petroleum hydrocarbons, mercury,

polyaromatic hydrocarbons A Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) is any member of a class of organic compounds that is composed of multiple fused aromatic rings. Most are produced by the incomplete combustion of organic matter— by engine exhaust fumes, tobacco, inciner ...

(PAH) and

polychlorinated biphenyls Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organochlorine compounds with the formula C12 H10−''x'' Cl''x''; they were once widely used in the manufacture of carbonless copy paper, as heat transfer fluids, and as dielectric and coolant fluids f ...

(PCB). The joint US/UK team of scientists reported that TPH content was low and that mercury content ranged from <0.02 to 2.61 mg/kg dry wt. PAH content ranged from as low as 37 ug/kg to 1696 ug/kg with the highest concentrations at Tuckerton Creek, nevertheless these concentrations are not considered harmful to humans or biota. The distribution pattern of PAHs throughout the study area was consistent with the burning from grass, wood and coal sources. Concentrations of PCB were below reported effects ranges suggesting a low risk.

Islands

Middle Sedge Island in Barnegat Bay is a island, of which 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.

Pop culture references

’s song "

" references the location in the lyrics saying "... over Barnegat Bridge and Bay...". In the television show ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

'',

Tony Soprano Anthony John Soprano, portrayed by James Gandolfini, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the HBO crime drama television series ''The Sopranos''. He is a member of the American Mafia, Italian-American Mafia and, later in the series, ...

owns a boat frequently set and docked along Barnegat Bay.

References

External links

Barnegat Bay PartnershipSave Barnegat Bay
– environmental advocacy site
Rutgers University: Barnegat Bay Shellfish Restoration Program
{{Authority control Estuaries of New Jersey Bays of New Jersey Bodies of water of Ocean County, New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway Long Beach Island