N.J. Admin. Code § 7:12-9.6

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

Section 7:12-9.6 - Soft clam and/or hard clam depuration harvester permit

(a) The purpose of the Soft Clam and/or Hard Clam Depuration Harvester Permit is to allow soft and/or hard clams to be harvested from Restricted waters and ultimately marketed after processing through a depuration plant operating pursuant to a certification issued by the Department of Health under N.J.A.C. 8:13-2 and a Soft and/or Hard Clam Depuration Plant Permit issued under N.J.A.C. 7:12-9.5.

(b) In addition to the completed Consolidated Permit Application form and application fee required under 7:12-9.3, an applicant for a Soft Clam and/or Hard Clam Depuration Harvester Permit shall specify the depuration plant at which the applicant intends to land harvested shellfish and submit a copy of a valid shellfish license.

(c) A Soft Clam and/or Hard Clam Depuration Harvester Permit is subject to the following requirements and conditions:

1. The only shellfish that may be harvested under this permit are soft clams (Mya areanaria) and/or hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) as specified in the issued permit document.

2. Area(s) of harvest are limited to those specified on the charts attached to the issued permit document or amended charts sent by the Bureau to the current mailing address of the permittee on record with the Bureau. The permittee is on notice that any emergency closure or harvest suspension imposed pursuant to 7:12-1.4may affect the waters specified on the charts. The Department will post notice of all emergency closures and harvest suspensions at www.nj.gov/dep/bmw.

3. The harvester shall possess a valid shellfish license issued by the Department's Division of Fish and Wildlife pursuant to 50:2-1.

4. The harvester shall have the issued depuration harvester permit document in possession while working in the specified areas.

5. Each vessel used by a harvester under this permit shall be marked, on both sides (amidships), with legible black lettering (minimum six inches in height) on the color background assigned by the Department to each depuration plant, giving the permittee's first initial and last name and permit number.

6. Each harvester shall report in person each day, prior to any harvest activities, to the depuration plant to obtain the specific number of Department of Health-approved primary harvest containers and, if so desired, obtain additional approved alternate containers in accordance with 7:12-9.5.

i. No containers to hold shellfish, other than the approved harvest containers (primary and alternate) obtained from the depuration plant, may be possessed in or on any harvest vessel used under this permit. However, a harvester may have onboard up to three clam baskets solely for purposes of culling and sorting harvested clams.

ii. Any harvester in possession of approved harvest containers (primary or alternate) shall be deemed to have harvested all clams in the harvester's possession from Restricted waters.

iii. Clams in the primary and alternate containers shall be transported directly from the harvest area to the designated depuration landing site(s) by the most direct route without making any stops or landings along the way. Each harvester shall land the entire day's catch at the depuration landing site(s) specified in the issued permit document between the hours of 8:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. The harvester shall take all reasonable measures to ensure that the containers of clams landed at the plant are filled to capacity. Upon arriving at the depuration plant, the harvester shall transfer all clams in the alternate containers to the corresponding primary containers.

iv. Should an emergency arise or adverse weather conditions exist, the harvest vessels may dock at the depuration plant when necessary, except that off loading of clams shall not be initiated until the specified landing times.

v. Upon landing at the designated depuration landing site(s), the harvester shall enter the following information on the Harvester Allocation Tag affixed to each primary container by the depuration plant pursuant to 7:12-9.5 (c)3: harvester name, date, and the harvest area.

7. Harvesting by methods not permitted pursuant to any State laws and rules are prohibited.

8. Any species of shellfish other than soft and hard clams shall be immediately released at the location from which they were harvested and shall not be removed from the harvest site.

(d) The harvesting of clams from the specified area(s) shall be permitted Monday through Saturday of each week between sunrise and 4:00 P.M.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:12-9.6

Amended and recodified from 7:12-9.7 by 48 N.J.R. 1911(a), effective 9/19/2016