Barnegat Bay is a small brackish arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 30 mi (50 km) long along the coast of Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States. It is essentially a long estuary formed by Island Beach Peninsula, a long barrier peninsula, as well as by the north end of Long Beach Island. The bay is fed by several small rivers, including the Toms River and Metedeconk River, which empty into the bay through small estuaries along its inner shore. The communities of Toms River, Silverton, and Forked River sit along the river estauries on the bay.

The bay is entered from the ocean through the Barnegat Inlet. The now defunct Barnegat Lighthouse sits along the inlet. The bay is part of the Intercoastal Waterway, entered on its north end by the Point Pleasant Canal and connecting on the south end with Little Egg Harbor via the small Manahawkin Bay. In a broader sense, the bay is sometimes considered to stretch to the south end of Long Beach Island and to include Little Egg Harbor.

The bay is spanned by two bridges from the mainland to the peninsula. The Barnegat National Wildlife Refuge comprises wetlands along the inner southern part of the bay.

The bay has been a longtime center for commercial fishing. The village of Toms River was a sigficant whaling port in the 19th century. During the American Revolutionary War, the bay was used as refuge by American pirates. The bay has become popular destination for recreation boating and fishing.

The water quality of the bay has been degraded by the pollution in the rivers and creeks that feed it. The preservation of the bay's water quality has been an on-going effort of several public and private orgnaizations.

The bay was immortalised by the famous yankee writer E. B. White who used it as a setting for his short story The family that dwelt apart. The story appears in his collection Preposterous Parables. It was made into an 8 minute animation film, narrated by White, by the National Film Board of Canada. The little movie is collected in the DVD More animation greats (from the National Film Board) distributed by Image Entertainment.

See also

• Jersey Shore

External links

• State of New Jersey: Barnegat Bay Estuary Program (http://www.state.nj.us/dep/watershedmgt/bbep.htm)
• Save Barnegat Bay (http://www.savebarnegatbay.org/) environmental advocacy site
• Rutgers University: Barnegat Bay Resources (http://deathstar.rutgers.edu/projects/runj/bbay.html)
• Jersey City Anglers Association: Future of Barnegat Bay (http://www.jcaa.org/JCNL9512/9512BARN.htm)