It’s home to countless organisms, spanning 660 square miles. NJTV News joined Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin aboard a boat on the Barnegat Bay… Nearby, ReClam the Bay- a local non-profit- rakes for clams. Rutgers University’s Monica Bricelj says since the 1980s, there’s been a huge decline in the clam population… “Not very clear on what the reasons are at all, whether it’s habitat loss or changes in water quality, it’s not clear at all,” she said… Bricelj and her team placed cages with juvenile clams in four sites throughout the bay to study their growth rates and survival. The highest growth rates occurred within relatively undeveloped protected areas. Aside from the research projects, a bay clean-up has become an annual event.