Pipefish in Newark Bay, NJ

[dakineacct]

I was working in the shipping berths at Newark Bay, in NJ a couple of days ago and a pipefish swam right up to my boat. I was so surprised, I had never seen one in our wonderfully polluted waters before. A Google search revealed that some Northern Pipefish (Syngnathus fuscus) inhabit the bay. Really cool.

 

[E.intheC]

Neat find. Pipefish and Sea horses wonder around the eastern (I'm sure western side as well) end of Long Island.

 

[dakineacct]

Yeah, I have actually seen seahorses beneath piers in Brooklyn. The NY harbor is much cleaner than it used to be.

 

[NewbyReefer]

Yeah today I was fishing off a pier outside of OceanCity NJ and someone pulled in a huge clump of seaweed and a pipefish was tangled in the seaweed. Never knew they were in this area until today.

 

[sjfishguy]

Oh yeah, pipes and seahorses are everywhere up here. I have caught both in minnow traps in the summer. I have filleted many fish around that have multiple seahorses in their stomachs.

 

[namxas]

The pipes in question are the northern pipefish (Syngnathus fuscus). The SH are most likely Northern H. erectus, which differ from the Southern erectus in that they are a bit smaller, have shorter snouts, and give birth to pelagic fry.

HTH

 

[NewbyReefer]

Oh yeah, pipes and seahorses are everywhere up here. I have caught both in minnow traps in the summer. I have filleted many fish around that have multiple seahorses in their stomachs.

Where have you caught the SH? I've only seen pipefish. I mainly end up in OceanCity and surrounding areas when I go scavaging. Never seen a SH.

 

[sjfishguy]

Again, I caught one in a minnow trap once. But I have mostly seen them in the stomachs of filleted fish: flounder, sea bass, and mahi. So I assume they are all over on the reefs offshore.

 

[CNoonan]

They're more common in the late summer and early fall. I live in LBI and go to Graveling Point at the end of Radio Road in Tuckerton. It's a bay beach that looks out at Atlantic City. You can usually catch them with seining nets or even with some googles. Seahorses are common in this area also.