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Community Corner

Stingrays Caught Off Shore of Sea Bright

Fishermen caught two stingrays off the shore of Sea Bright this past weekend; stingray sightings have been numerous over the past few weeks.

Stingrays have been sighted in the waters off and Long Branch over the past few weeks and this past weekend fishermen caught two off the beach just south of Donovan’s Reef.

Each stingray was large in size, and appeared to weigh approximately 60 to 70 pounds. It took the fishermen about 20 minutes to reel in each sting ray. Shortly after the first one was caught, another was hooked and reeled to shore.

With their poles heavily bent, and the catch on the line giving up a fight, it was not an easy task to reel in the stingrays.

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Numerous beachgoers looked on to watch as the stingrays were caught and brought to shore. Many snapped photos and examined them, and children gazed at the strange looking fish. One mother cautioned her child not to get too close, as the stinger was poisonous. 

Shortly after catching them, the fishermen snapped off the poisonous stingers. One fishermen said they would cook the stingrays and eat them, adding they had a taste similiar to that of scallops. 

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Stingrays have been spotted off area beaches in the past few weeks. Lifeguards at Donovan’s Reef last week said that they saw numerous sting rays off the shore. This past Friday, swimmers in Long Branch near Pier Village were evacuated twice, once due to a shark sighting and another due to stingray sightings. 

On July 29, a man was stung at Island Beach State Park in Berkeley. Fishermen in Island Beach also have caught sting rays and four-foot sharks, according to .

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