L Street Beach, Shark River is a shore accessible salt water dive site, located at Route 35 and L street, Belmar, NJ. This dive site has an average rating of 3.25 out of 5 from 4 scuba divers. The maximum depth is 16-20ft/5-6m. The average visibility is 5-10ft/2-3m.
Being in the back basin the current is less from tidal changes than in the inlet so you can get in a longer dive. The trade off is there is less to see but it is a good place to practice skills or test equipment. The site is used by some instructors for classes on weekends and can get silted out in the shallows. Best time is early evenings during the week, check the tide tables for slack high tide, anything else and viz is worse.
All diving is west of the boat ramp, between the boat ramp and Rt. 35 There is a low wall perfect for putting on the tank. Walk down the beach, not the boat ramp! Since you’ll be diving next to a boat ramp, in front of a floating fishing pier or west under the sailing school a flag is a must, NJ law requires you to surface within 25’ and boats to stay clear 50’
The second choice for an entry are the steps at the sailing school (These were locked when I was there 8/29/2012 and still locked 9/15/2013) There are also steps in from Maclearie Park. In the shallows are sea grasses, as you go deeper (max 20’) and under the boat channel it’s sand. Things you’ll see besides things lost by student divers, fishermen and boaters are the usual Jersey crabs, blueclaws, stone, hermits and horseshoe. Seabass, Sea Robins, Flounder, starfish, eels living in beer bottles, some shrimp and the occasional Seahorse. In late summer and into fall we get tropical’s, mostly butterflies, some damsels, triggers, small frogfish and I have seen squid. After the dive there is a hose near the boat ramp for washing down boats but it works for divers too (On 8/29/2012 and again 9/15/2013 that hose wasn’t there, not sure if this was because of construction or not). At the west end of the beach near the sailing school is a beach shower but it’s not always on and a bathroom that may be locked if the lifeguard is off duty.
There has been a Port-A-John next to the boat trailer parking lot lately. 9/15/2013
From NJ Scuba Divers board;
members3.boardhost.com/Modiver/msg/1338159258.html The underwater landscape has totally changed. It reminded me of the ledge dives I have done in California and mexico. Lots of pilings and rock debris make a wonderful reef on the east end of the boat dock. There are hills that go from 9 ft to 17ft in just one drop. Fish are just packed under these man made ledges. For a moment I forgot I was in the bay and thought I was peeking under a hollowed out wreck.
Forget something, need air? DiversTwo is the LDS
diverstwo.com/Chart (with wrong depths) tides and current info;
deepzoom.com/#/Views/Boat.xaml§ 13:82-3.17 Diving and swimming
(a) General provisions with respect to diving and swimming are as follows:
1. Underwater diving with or without an underwater apparatus is permitted in all navigable waters in New Jersey unless otherwise prohibited in this section.
2. Any person while diving shall mark his or her position with a buoyed flag:
i. Such flag shall be displayed so that it is visible all around the horizon from a buoy, float, boat or other floating object;
ii. Such flag shall be a minimum of 14 inches by 16 inches, shall be rigid to enhance visibility and shall be a red background with a white diagonal stripe running from one corner to the other.
3. No person shall operate a vessel within 50 feet of the buoyed flag.
4. No person shall display a flag at times other than when diving is in progress.
5. No person shall swim or dive in a narrow, confined or improved channel or in a marked fairway, under a bridge, or impede, obstruct or interfere with passage of watercraft therein.
6. No diver shall surface more than 25 feet from the buoyed flag except in an emergency