Fortescue, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
 Fortescue Beach | |
  Fortescue Location in Cumberland County  Fortescue Location in New Jersey  Fortescue Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates: 39°14′15″N75°10′18″W / 39.23750°N 75.17167°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  New Jersey |
| County | Cumberland |
| Township | Downe |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.32 sq mi (0.81 km2) |
| • Land | 0.29 sq mi (0.75 km2) |
| • Water | 0.03 sq mi (0.06 km2) |
| Elevation | 7 ft (2 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 189 |
| • Density | 651.7/sq mi (251.6/km2) |
| ZIP Code | 08321 |
| FIPS code | 34-24360 [3] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0876423 [4] |
Fortescue is a community and census-designated place (CDP) [5] in Downe Township, Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. [6] The community is located on the state's southern coast, on the Delaware Bay, surrounded on three sides by marshland. The area was named for John Fortescue, a local property owner at the time of American independence. [7] [8] As of the 2020 United States census, the CDP's population was 189. [2]
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During the late 1970s and mid 1980s, Fortescue experienced the best fishing it had ever seen. Anglers were catching enormous numbers of weakfish every summer. Fortescue was the self-proclaimed "weakfish capital of the world". [9] Overfishing led federal authorities to establish limits in the mid-1970s on the weakfish catch, though by 1990 the fish population had crashed, severely impacting the commercial fishing economy in the area. [7]
Fortescue is part of the Fortescue State Wildlife Management Area which covers 1,311.92 acres (530.92 ha). [10]
