January 25, 2018

The Littoral Society and the Wreck Pond team would like to wish everyone a happy 2018! Between cold snaps, winter storms, and strong winds, this year has certainly had its effect on Wreck Pond. The first two weeks of January brought consistent on-shore winds pushing an extensive amount of sand into Wreck Pond, while freezing temperatures iced over the majority of the water body. As well, erosion occurred on both the East and West sides of the barrier dune between Spring Lake and Sea Girt.  Through it all, the fish passage culvert remained strong and un-phased by such events.  

In the last two weeks,  with rising temperatures, the extensive sand bar (seen below) has begun to reform and dissipate, helping to restore normal flow throughout the water body. 

With this brings the Wreck Pond teams Spring Fish sampling season. Capt. Al, Zack, and Julie will be setting up computers and anternnas throughout the beginning weeks of February in order to  monitor for adult river herring. The equipment used will help to detect previously tagged individuals coming back to the pond, as well as  monitor the movement of newly tagged herring this season.

As in the past, a fyke net will be used under the rail road bridge to sample fish moving about. The net will be placed during lunar cycles for a three day span checked each day at 6AM and 6PM. All fish captured will be measured and weighed before being released. Should adult river herring be caught, they will receive a PIT tag which will track their movement.  The spring sampling season will run from March until June   

Sampling events are open to the public, but the total number of participants per event is limited. If interested, please contact Julie Schumacher, Julie@littoralsociety.org or Zack Royle, zack@littoralsociety.org for more information on sampling dates and availability.