Flight crews keep an eye out on the Jersey Shore through its annual summer aerial surveillance from May to September.

I came across this article on Courier-Post, about Virginia Loftin's typical day surveying the Jersey Shore for anything weird or abnormal...from above!

This aerial surveillance has been conducted by the state Department of Environmental Protection since the 1980s, six days a week during the summer months.

So, what exactly are they keeping an eye out up there?

Loftin says they can see 'floatables,' or any other issues off the ocean beaches. By surveying from above, the county's health department is able to call the town about a potential wash-up.

Thanks to these aerial surveys, the swimmers are protected and the state is able to maintain clean beaches on the shore. It's important to keep an eye on the shore, considering it made $43 billion for the state's tourism industry.

Safe to say, it's one of the many treasures within New Jersey.

All the information gained from up above is uploaded to the DEP's Marine Water Monitoring website. Loftin says the general public can also contribute to beach wash-ups to the DEP by 877-WARN-DEP.

 

 

Visit Courier-Post to read more about how this flight crew keeps us safe from above. I thought it was pretty cool!

 

 

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