The Long Beach Township Marine Education Field Station, located along the bay in Holgate, is offering a reminder to boaters to help protect the ecologically sensitive areas within our watershed.

Facility coordinators point to the N.J. Governor’s Action Plan for Barnegat Bay, which provides tips to aid in safeguarding the local estuary. As the state Department of Environmental Protection notes, it’s important, while motoring through the bay, to be mindful of “locations where unique wildlife and submerged aquatic vegetation, such as eel grass, is found. These areas provide shelter and feeding grounds for numerous fish and wildlife, including shellfish, crabs and shorebirds.”

As the DEP explains, “Barnegat Bay’s 75-square-mile, environmentally sensitive estuarine system consists of aquatic vegetation, shellfish beds, finfish habitats, waterfowl…