New Jersey Scuba Diving

Sea Mammals

Bottlenose Dolphins
Bottlenose Dolphins

All marine mammals are strictly protected by law, and may not be approached or harassed. Foxes excepted.

Harbor Seal

Harbor Seal

Phoca vitulina

by Larry Sarner

Wild seals conjure up images of northern or even Arctic climates. But few people know that more than a hundred harbor seals call New Jersey home during the winter months, coming ashore into isolated estuaries and even upstream into a few rivers.

New Jersey is near the southern limits of the range for harbor seals on the East Coast. However, these seals are frequent visitors offshore in winter and even have been reported as far south as the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and off the coast of North Carolina. The winter seal-sighting season runs from December through March. Seals generally leave the New Jersey coast by the second week in April, probably responding to rising air and water temperatures and the increase in human activity.

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Bottlenose Dolphin

Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

Size: to 12 ft

Habitat: oceanic

Notes: The largest dolphin in our waters. These occasionally stray into rivers and bays. There they are sometimes trapped in the winter, where they would die if not for the ensuing human rescue operations.

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Humpback Whale

Humpback Whale

Megaptera novaeangliae

Size: to 50 ft

Habitat: oceanic

Notes:
These are most often seen from charter boats, and are certainly the most common large whales in the area. Occasionally one may even be spotted from shore. The popular notion of a whale song is actually the vocalization of these whales.

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Red Fox

Red Fox

Vulpes fulva

Size: to 25" (about the size of a beagle)

Habitat: wherever there is food

Notes: Alright, this is not exactly a marine mammal. However, these rascals are becoming so common along the Jersey Shore that I thought I would mention them. They are especially common at Sandy Hook and Long Beach Island, where they live on handouts from beach-goers. It is important not to feed them, as this has caused a population explosion, and also makes them bolder with humans, and potentially dangerous. In the off-season, they prey on certain threatened shorebirds as well.

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Gear Moving & Storage

storage box

The standard means of moving and storing dive gear is the dive bag. All of the major manufacturers make dive gear bags. These are often quite fancy, with embroidered logos, pockets inside and out, "ergonomic" handles, and even wheels. Most of these bags are very nice but really too small to hold a cold-water dive kit, and very heavy to carry around when full. These bags are also expensive, a bother to clean, and a lot less waterproof than they claim. Here's is a convenient alternative that is much cheaper:

Go to K-Mart Home Depot and spend $5 on a Rubbermaid tote box, about the size of a milk crate. This will not be big enough to hold all items - you'll have to pack your fins and BC separately - but it will hold everything else, is small enough to fit almost anywhere, and also avoids making a single excessively heavy load. The tote also will not lose small items like a milk crate will. I eventually drilled drain holes in the bottom. I now use my fancy dive bag only to carry my drysuit and its accessories. This type of tote box is the preferred container on every area dive boat I have been on.

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Disclaimer:

I make no claim as to the accuracy, validity, or appropriateness of any information found in this website. I will not be responsible for the consequences of any action that is based upon information found here. Scuba diving is an adventure sport, and as always, you alone are responsible for your own safety and well being.

Copyright © 1996-2024 Rich Galiano
unless otherwise noted

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