Two of Cape May County’s gourmet industries are considering a partnership to expand their reach to customers across America. The county’s wineries are so distinctive they’re pursuing their own regional brand called the Cape May Peninsula. Meanwhile, Cape May Salts and other county oyster brands are enjoyed on the half-shell by foodies as far away as California….[Gustavo] Calvo’s wife, Lisa Calvo, works as aquaculture program coordinator for the Rutgers Haskin Shellfish Research Lab in Middle Township. She said consumers are taking more interest in how and where their food is grown. As with wine, oysters have a unique regional flavor, she said. Food-lovers call this regional identification by taste “merroir.”
Release project in Cape helps horseshoe crab hatchlings avoid predators
You could call it a Head Start program for horseshoe crabs. Normally the crabs have a tough learning curve. They are born on the sandy Delaware Bay coast, the largest breeding ground in the world for the species, and predators immediately try to eat them…A Rutgers University project at its Aquaculture Innovation Center on the Cape May Canal is giving some of the young crabs a three-month head start in life…”We’ve released 50,000 to 75,000 a year. It can make a difference because they’re so susceptible to predation. Striped bass, bluefish and other finfish feast on young-of-the-year crabs,” said Michael De Luca, a director at the university’s Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences.
Barnegat Bay / Follow the science
In a perverse way, it’s a shame all threats to New Jersey’s all-important tourism economy can’t be as big and impossible-to-miss as Hurricane Sandy. State officials had to respond to Sandy’s destruction in a big way, and they did…Unfortunately, that …
Gypsy moths, destroyer of forests, virtually gone in South Jersey
The gypsy moths that destroyed or severely damaged hundreds of thousands of acres of trees throughout the state for about a century have virtually disappeared in South Jersey. An aerial survey performed in June and earlier this month showed evidence of…
Cleanup finished at north end of Forsythe refuge, but work goes on in Stafford
A cleanup of Hurricane Sandy debris in the Edwin B. Forsythe Wildlife Refuge will extend into the fall after more debris was found than anticipated, officials said…Refuge Manager Virginia Rettig told the Press in May that chemicals found on the refug…
New Jersey peach crop arriving late but with top quality fruit
Jersey peaches are being shipped to market, a little late but in time for peach parties and pie contests around the state…The crop was slow to develop thanks to a particularly cold winter. But adequate rainfall and lots of sunny weather has meant top…
Smallest farms becoming rarer in New Jersey
Strings dangling from a greenhouse-like tunnel dance when a breeze blows through Shirley Kline’s small farm, a wisp of rural beauty in a cantaloupe patch. The moment is not lost on the world-traveled farmer of 6 acres in Stow Creek Township, Cumberland County. “If you don’t take pleasure in being out here and working and getting your hands dirty, this isn’t the life for you,” she said. Kline represents a dwindling portion of New Jersey agriculture – the smallest acreage farms…Richard VanVranken, Atlantic County’s agricultural agent with Rutgers University, said those five years measured in the latest census were tough for agriculture. “The last couple of years had turned around and were quite good, but the previous five years were tough, with low prices in markets for vegetables and gluts in the market,” he said.
Delays in cleaning Forsythe could lead to environmental problems, scientist warns
Delays in cleaning up Hurricane Sandy debris at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge could create environmental problems there, a Rutgers University scientist said. Household chemicals have been found during an ongoing Fish and Wildlife Service-funded cleanup at the refuge. The cleanup was expected to have been finished by now but will not be completed until at least the fall, refuge Manager Virginia Rettig said…Household chemicals are a troubling thing for a natural environment such as a salt marsh at the refuge, said Michael Kennish, a research professor for the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University. “It’s very difficult to get chemicals out of the sediments and to get the habitat cleaned out,” he said.
It’s sneezing season: With pollen levels likely to be high this year, allergy sufferers prepare for the worst
Elise Waldman, of Linwood, lives her life, but her allergies don’t make it easy. Every day, all year long, Waldman takes the over-the-counter medication Zyrtec for her hay fever and allergy symptoms. She doesn’t open the windows at her home. Shoes are …
Ocean County seeks $2 million for Barnegat Bay water treatment
A $2 million portable stormwater treatment system could be the latest tool to protect the steadily declining health of Barnegat Bay. The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders has submitted a grant application to the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust for $2 million to fund the system, which would provide onsite treatment of water removed from storm drains…”Any effort by the county to address the problems in stormwater basins and drainage pipes is a good thing, but it is not a remedy for the nitrogen in Barnegat Bay,” said Michael Kennish, a research professor with the Rutgers University Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences. But Kennish said that what is predominantly causing the bay’s decline is the nitrogen eutrophication of the waterway.
