It’s a dirty job Capt. Jerry Golembeski has been doing for 13 years, helping pump human waste out of boat toilet holding tanks as part of the effort to reduce bacteria in Barnegat Bay.
He’ll be back at the helm and at the pump again this summer, serving recreational boaters in the center part of the bay. The fleet that began with his federally funded boat in Seaside Park, has grown to a fleet of five, spread the length of the bay. He’s been promoting to “admiral of the fleet’’ of pumpout boats, according to Ocean County Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari.
The fleet, and federally funded pumpout stations at marinas that ring the bay, helped gain the waterway a “no discharge zone,’’ designation from the federal government, making it illegal to flush marine toilets into the water.
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“Boat owners have done their part to keep effluent out of the bay,’’ Golembeski declared Wednesday as he looked forward to another summer on pumpout duty. “I’ve seen a lot of changes.’’
When he started, in 1998, “hardly anybody, including me, new what a pumpout boat was,’’ he recalled.
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He started out with the boat and a bunch of brochures, approaching boaters rafted up at Tice’s Shoal, an anchorage in the flats behind Island Beach State Park, to spread the word. He’d approach a boat, offer a brochure and a demonstration, and the word spread about the free service.
Approaching one woman in a boat, he heard her cry: “No, no, no religious stuff.’’
"That’s not religion I’ve got in my tanks,’’ he replied.
Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari said the pumpout fleet has serviced more than 35,000 recreational boats. Skippers can call for the service on VHF channel 9. He praised the captains for keeping their boats clean.
With what is on board, Golembeski said the skippers have to keep the boats clean.
Vicari said Ocean has more marinas than any other county in the state, making the pumpout service an important part of keeping the bay clean.
Wastes collected by the pumpout fleet is treated by the Ocean County Utilities Authority. In addition to Seaside Park, boats are based in Brick, and at the Tuckerton Seaport.
