Closed Beaches? Sharks? Here's What To Expect In NJ On July 4

The weather will be hard to predict on July 4, and so will the state of the ocean and other swimming areas in New Jersey.

New Jersey has had some issues with bacterial contamination over the past week that could pose some problems for the thousands of tourists expected to celebrate July 4. Some of those issues, officials warn, could pose a threat to swimmers.

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On top of that, New Jersey has had several shark sitings that, for what it's worth, appear to be creating more excitement than anxiety. One of the sharks was found off Point Pleasant Beach and, according to the fisherman who encountered it, the fish was 16-feet long.

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But Bob C. Schoelkopf, who runs the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, said sharks are not a problem for beachgoers. What tourists are seeing, he said, is nothing unusual and the fish are too far out to pose a threat to swimmers.

People should be more concerned about the pollution and bacteria, Schoelkopf said, that's closed New Jersey beaches and, in some cases, made people sick.

Schoelkopf said he's especially concerned about a horrible disease that once was supposedly limited to year-round warm-weather climates, and now appears to be a threat to New Jersey. He said a similar outbreak impacted people and dolphins in 1987.

Five people have recently been treated in New Jersey – and one person has died – for what's commonly known as "flesh-eating bacteria," or Vibrio, according to a report published this past week in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Read more: 5 People In NJ Got Flesh-Eating Bacteria; 1 Died, Report Says

Several New Jersey swimming sites, meanwhile, have been hampered by cyanobacteria. The state Department of Environmental Protection has been taking action by either shutting down the beaches or issuing advisories to minimize the risk of toxic blue-green algae.

The harmful algae blooms happen when cyanobacteria overproduces in a body of water. In the right situations – such as sunlight, hot and calm waters and high nutrients – the bacteria can cause a bloom that's toxic to humans and animals.

Read more: Harmful 'Cyanobacteria' Shuts Down Swimming At Several NJ Sites

Three ocean beaches also were under an advisory this week because of "unsafe" levels of bacteria found in animal and human waste, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The problems were initially discovered Monday and Tuesday, with the beaches exceeding the bacteria concentration limit of 104 colony-forming units (cfu) of Enterococci per 100 milliliters of water, according to the DEP.

The beaches were placed under a water quality advisory, but they have since been removed from it:

• North Wildwood: 10th and JFK
• Wildwood: Bennett
• Wildwood Crest: Lavendar

Some of the harmful effects of Enterococci, a bacteria found in animal and human waste, include infections that cause fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Tourists, however, may not have to worry about the weather too much. Here is the weather forecast:

• Wednesday afternoon: Isolated showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 88. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
• Wednesday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
• Independence Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. East wind 5 to 8 mph.
• Thursday night: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. East wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.