Who We Are
Shark River Community Science is an autonomous working group of the Shark River Cleanup Coalition, Inc. (SRCC), which has a 20-year history of community advocacy and action to cleanup and protect Shark River, including previous water monitoring programs in Shark River inlet.
Our Mission
Shark River Community Science was conceived in 2021 as a purpose-built center of excellence for community-led science, with the capability to collect high quality data that can be used to help the community make informed decisions about how to protect the Shark River watershed. It is led by members of the SRCC, and is further comprised of residents from the communities surrounding Shark River.
We established this Water Quality Monitoring Program to sample, assess and hopefully begin taking steps to restore the water quality within the Shark River watershed, through a combined approach of water monitoring, identification of contaminant sources, public outreach, community education, and stakeholder involvement.
The primary strategic goal is to use science-driven data collection to bring about positive changes in Shark River, including: safely restoring public recreational uses (namely bathing, boating and water-sports), economic uses (commercial fishing/shellfish-crab consumption), and environmental improvements of aquatic habitats. Additionally, the secondary goal is to bring together community stakeholders to work together on improving the water quality in response to water quality testing results.