N.J. Admin. Code § 7:12-8.6

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 12, June 17, 2024

Section 7:12-8.6 - Vibrio parahaemolyticus Control Plan time to temperature control requirements for harvesting oysters

(a) If a shellfish license holder is conducting subtidal harvesting of oysters, the shellfish license holder shall comply with the following hours from harvest to refrigeration:

Dates of harvest	Maximum hours to refrigeration<1>	Start of harvest<2>
June 1 - June 14	7	Sunrise
June 15 - July 14	6	Sunrise
July 15 - August 31	7	Sunrise

<1> Hours to refrigeration means the total number of hours (inclusive of any transport time) from the start of harvest until the oysters are placed in refrigeration.

<2.> For purposes of the start of harvest under this subsection, sunrise shall mean the time of sunrise in Trenton, New Jersey. The sunrise time shall apply regardless of where a harvester intends to harvest or is harvesting shellfish. The Trenton sunrise timetable is included in the NJ Hunting and Trapping Digest available from the Department's Division of Fish and Wildlife and on-line at http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw.

1. A shellfish license holder conducting subtidal harvesting who places harvested oysters directly in refrigeration on the vessel is not subject to the maximum hours to refrigeration in the table at (a) above. However, the shellfish license holder shall:

i. Notify the Department's Division of Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Law Enforcement, Marine Region, at 609-748-2050 prior to June 1 that the harvester will be using, on the vessel, refrigeration that is approved by the Department of Health; and

ii. Fly a flag that is a minimum size of 18 inches by 18 inches, orange, and bearing a black diagonal stripe.

(b) If a shellfish license holder is conducting intertidal harvesting of oysters from June 1 through August 31, the maximum hours to refrigeration (inclusive of any transport time) is four hours, starting when the first oysters to be harvested are exposed to the air by the receding tide.

(c) If a shellfish license holder is conducting tide-dependent harvesting of oysters from June 1 through August 31, the maximum hours to refrigeration (inclusive of any transport time) is four hours, starting when harvest begins. On each harvest day prior to any harvest activity, the shellfish license holder shall notify the Department's Division of Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Law Enforcement, Marine Region, at 609-748-2050 to provide the name of the shellfish license holder, location of harvest, and harvest start time.

(d) Each shellfish license holder harvesting oysters shall record on each harvest day, in a journal with permanently bound pages, the harvest start time, the time the last-harvested shellfish was placed in refrigeration, and the shell temperature of the shellfish in one container from the day's harvest at offloading, including the time the temperature was measured.

1. To measure the shell temperature, the shellfish license holder shall use a handheld laser thermometer.

2. The shellfish license holder shall provide each harvest day's information to the certified dealer on the transaction record.

3. The shellfish license holder shall submit to the Bureau at the address in 7:12-1.1(l) a copy of the journal by September 15 of each year.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:12-8.6

Adopted by 48 N.J.R. 1911(a), effective 9/19/2016