The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded the New Jersey Audubon Society’s Nature Center of Cape May and Sea Tow a grant for $99,335 to clean up the southernmost waters of New Jersey. The grant is entitled “Clean Cape May: Working Together to Clear Marine Debris and Improve Our Coastal Habitats.”      
             

The unique partnership, called “Clean Cape May” for short, will remove debris that has littered the estuarine environment of the greater Cape May Harbor area for decades. According to project coordinator and nature center director Gretchen Ferrante, “Cape May is the eighth largest fishing port in the United States, the third largest on the east coast and the largest in the state of New Jersey. The value of a healthy marine and coastal ecosystem cannot be overstated for the area’s economic and social well-being.”   The  project will take three approaches to the marine debris problem:  removal of large debris by the Sea Tow Company; community-based clean-up, outreach and education; and prevention. 

From left to right, Girl Scouts Abby de La Tour, Destiny Devlin, Victoria Caldwell, Hannah Parylak and Emily Hamrick do their part to help the Nature Center of Cape May and Sea Tow fulfill the “Clean Cape May” grant received from NOAA.