Fishermen have fished the Manasquan Ridge for generations but now they fear it could be vacuumed up to build dunes on the beach

The appearance of the 123-foot offshore supply vessel Scarlett Isabella on the Manasquan Ridge is a bad omen to Capt. Jim Lovgren, a Point Pleasant Beach commercial fisherman.

The Scarlett was in the hire of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which is looking for potential sand on the outer continental shelf that could be pumped up onto the Jersey beach. Tampering with these sand beds, which are long established fishing areas, could reshape the fishing communities at the Shore, fishermen say.

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