May 19, 2025 — Guru; a person who enlightens others with his teaching and knowledge. Early Friday morning, May 16 th , the commercial fishing industry lost one of its most respected voices as Nils Stolpe, 79, passed away in his sleep. Nils had been hospitalized Thursday morning after falling in his home and breaking his ankle. He also bumped his head, and his blood pressure was low, so he was held overnight for observation, he never woke up. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Pat, his son Nils, and his wife Janet.
Nils was born on December 16 th , 1945 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and graduated from Hammonton HS in New Jersey. He attended Rutgers University where he studied marine biology and earned his master’s degree in environmental planning. He spent 10 years as a project manager on a small-scale aquaculture project on the Delaware river, before he moved on to work at the New Jersey Department of Agriculture where he spent the next 9 years attempting to come up with an aquaculture development plan. He gradually recognized that large scale aquaculture in New Jersey was not feasible due to the overall costs involved, including high labor, taxes, real estate, and construction. When his boss insisted on continuing pursuing aquaculture development, Nils moved on.