Date: February 2, 2023
Author: The Sand Paper Staff
Local and state police responded to a call about hunters on an ocean beach in Barnegat Light last Saturday morning after a number of people saw a handful of men shooting ducks near a manmade pond south of the inlet. Long Beach Township police and N.J. conservation officers spoke with the hunters at the site, and the men later departed the area with the waterfowl they had shot.
The witnesses, some of whom were part of an Audubon Society birding group, felt it wasn’t safe for the men to be shooting guns close to where people were walking. In addition, they weren’t sure hunting was allowed in that location, a habitat restoration area created as part of a state and federal effort to protect beach-nesting birds during breeding season.
On Tuesday, a representative from the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection said the men were hunting outside of state park perimeters.
The following day, Chief Frank T. Panico of N.J. Fish and Wildlife Conservation Police summarized, “Saturday, at approximately 09:00 hours, law enforcement received a call for illegal waterfowl hunting at Barnegat Light State Park. A conservation police officer responded. Upon arrival, she found Long Beach Township police were already on scene with the five hunters – four adults, one juvenile.
“It turns out they were not in the state park but were hunting in an area next to the park property,” he continued. “There were no statutes or codes prohibiting the hunters from being there and there were no safety zones.”
The conservation police officer on scene did find some minor paperwork violations, said Panico, and the following summonses were issued: four summonses for failure to display a hunting license and three summonses for hunting waterfowl without a valid federal waterfowl stamp.
Barnegat Light Mayor Kirk Larson did not comment directly on the incident, saying, “All I know is that they were on state property, not Barnegat Light.” But he did add that the matter will probably spark discussion at the next council meeting on whether the borough needs to review its ordinances to see if language should be added that addresses hunting on the beach.
“It’s one of those things you didn’t do: have an ordinance that says no hunting on the beach. Who would have thought of that?” the mayor observed of the irony. “There’s no skindiving on our beaches, no fires; we forgot hunting.”
Source: The Sandpaper