Raritan Bay & New York Harbor

Raritan Bay and New York Harbor. Industry and Trade. Boating is a popular activity on Raritan and Sandy Hook bays. These waters provide both shelter from and access to the Atlantic Ocean. Over the past three centuries, maritime traffic in the Raritan Bay – New York Harbor area has increased significantly., On warm summer days, commercial fishing boats, container ships, sport fishing, pleasure, and military vessels, as well as dredgers and barges crowd the harbor. Smaller sport fishing boats must constantly be on guard to avoid collisions., [Sibebar:] , A Decline in Commercial Fishing Activities, Although New Jersey’s rich tidal estuaries produces some of the best fishing waters in the country, environmental and physical changes in the Raritan Bay – New York Harbor area have caused commercial fishing activities to gradually decline. The adverse effect of pollution on fish eggs and larvae has endangered the fisheries. The mending process will be slow and has required some tough decisions. However, as the new millennium begins, the bay is already cleaner than it was twenty years earlier.