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Aquaculture, mainly of Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica), has been practiced in various forms along New Jersey's Delaware Bay shoreline for more than a century. One form, “structural aquaculture,” involves the tending and harvesting of native bivalves in bags, cages, or other structures. On the wide tidal flats of Cape May County, structural aquaculture operations overlap with important foraging habitat for the federally listed rufa red knot (Calidris canutus rufa). Following collaboration with stakeholders and the New Jersey Departments of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service completed formal programmatic consultation for structural aquaculture in this area in 2016. The resulting Programmatic Biological Opinion (PBO) established consistent yet adaptable Conservation Measures to balance the operation and growth of aquaculture farms with the conservation needs of the rufa red knot. An updated PBO, issued in 2026, describes how several key goals of the 2016 consultation have been since achieved. The first 10 years of PBO implementation demonstrated the effectiveness of the Conservation Measures, as both aquaculture and red knots increased in the action area action area
All areas to be affected directly or indirectly by the federal action and not merely the immediate area involved in the action.
Learn more about action area over this time. The State’s successful geographic consolidation of aquaculture and associated upland access were among the most important factors producing positive outcomes to date. The 2026 PBO incorporates new information but generally retains the original 2016 framework of Conservation Measures, including processes for ongoing communication and cooperation among agencies and stakeholders.
Link to the 2026 Programmatic Biological Opinion
