New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Chapter 12 - SHELLFISH GROWING WATER CLASSIFICATION
Subchapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS AND PROCEDURES FOR CLASSIFICATION OF SHELLFISH WATERS
Section 7:12-1.2 - Definitions
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Approved" means waters that the Department has determined, pursuant to 7:12-1.3 , meet the sanitary standards set forth in the NSSP Guide such that the harvest of shellfish for direct marketing is allowed.
"Aquaculture" is a form of agriculture involving the propagation, rearing, and subsequent harvesting of aquatic organisms in controlled or selected environments, and the subsequent processing, packaging, and marketing, and shall include, but is not limited to, activities to intervene in the rearing process to increase production such as stocking, feeding, transplanting, and providing for protection from predators. Aquaculture is a water dependent activity. Aquaculture shall not include the construction of facilities and appurtenant structures that might otherwise be regulated pursuant to any State or Federal law or regulation.
"Bait harvesting" means the taking of shellfish from areas other than approved, for use only as bait and not for human consumption.
"Broodstock" means sexually mature shellfish that are kept for breeding purposes.
"Bureau" means the Bureau of Marine Water Monitoring.
"Certified dealer" means a person who receives or accepts shellfish for shucking, repacking, shipping, or sale pursuant to a certificate issued by the Department of Health under N.J.A.C. 8:13.
"Condemned" means waters that, pursuant to 7:12-1.3 , do not meet the criteria set forth in the NSSP Guide for the harvest of shellfish for direct marketing. Condemned waters comprise the following classifications: Prohibited, Restricted, Conditionally Restricted, and Conditionally Approved when the water classification is in its closed status.
"Condemned areas" means waters not meeting the established sanitary standards as recommended by the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference. Condemned areas are comprised of the following classifications: Prohibited, Special Restricted, Seasonal Special Restricted and Seasonal.
"Conditionally Approved" means waters that, pursuant to 7:12-1.3 , meet the definition of "Approved" when the Conditionally Approved water classification is in its open status and meet the definition of "Restricted" when the Conditionally Approved water classification is in its closed status. Conditionally Approved waters are delineated at 7:12-4.1 .
"Conditionally Restricted" means waters that, pursuant to 7:12-1.3 , meet the definition of "Restricted" when the Conditionally Restricted water classification is in its open status and meet the definition of "Prohibited" when the Conditionally Restricted water classification is in its closed status. Conditionally Restricted waters are delineated at 7:12-5.1 .
"Department" means the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
"Department maintained markers" means any special shellfish buoy, range, stake, or marker maintained by the Department, for the purpose of aiding in the delineation of shellfish growing waters.
"Depletion" means the planned removal of market size shellfish from areas other than approved, for resource management and control purposes.
"Depuration" means the process of reducing the pathogenic organisms that may be present in shellfish by using a controlled aquatic environment as the treatment process.
"Depuration or controlled purification" means the process that uses a controlled aquatic environment to reduce the levels of bacteria and viruses in live shellfish.
"Depuration plant" means a facility that conducts depuration pursuant to a permit under this chapter and the Department of Health's rules at N.J.A.C. 8:13.
"Depuration process" means the procedure and equipment employed by which shellfish are harvested from waters sanctioned and classified by the Department of Environmental Protection as Special Restricted or Seasonal Special Restricted and are treated at a depuration plant for controlled purification.
"Depuration unit" is a tank or series of tanks supplied by a single process water system.
"Designated enforcement unit(s)" means the Department's Division of Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Law Enforcement, Marine Region; Division of Water Monitoring and Standards, Bureau of Marine Water Monitoring; Division of Water and Land Use Enforcement, Water Compliance and Enforcement Program; and the Department of Law and Public Safety, Division of State Police, Marine Services Bureau.
"Direct marketing" means the sale for human consumption of shellfish that does not require depuration or relay prior to sale or has been subjected to depuration or relay prior to sale.
"Hard clams" mean the species Mercenaria mercenaria.
"Harvest" means the act of removing shellfish from a growing water and its placement on or in a manmade conveyance or other means of transport.
"Harvester allocation tag" means the tag that is to be affixed to each container of shellfish at the time the container is allocated by the depuration plant operator to the individual clammer. The use, specifications and information requirements shall be in compliance with Department of Health and Senior Services rules at 8:13-2.24.
"Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference" or "ISSC" means the formal conference that establishes guidelines and procedures of the National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP) for the sanitary control of the harvesting, processing and distribution of shellfish. These guidelines and procedures are published as "Guide for the Control of Molluscan Shellfish" and are updated by the ISSC as needed. Membership in the ISSC consists of Federal, State and local regulatory agencies responsible for shellfish sanitation, the shellfish industry and the academic community.
"Intertidal harvesting" means the harvesting of shellfish from the area that is exposed at low tide and covered by water at high tide.
"Landing" means the time or place at which shellfish is put on land or a dock.
"Marina" and/or "mooring facility" means any structure (docks, piers, bulkheads, floating docks, etc.) that supports five or more boats, built on or near the water, which is utilized for docking, storing or otherwise mooring vessels and usually but not necessarily provides services to vessels such as repairing fueling, security or other related activities.
"Monitoring system" means a video surveillance system which shall be remotely monitored via telephone lines in designated State offices. The surveillance system shall be so located as to monitor all critical control activities. The system must be approved by the SRRSC.
"National Shellfish Sanitation Program" or "NSSP" means the Federal/State cooperative program that provides for the sanitary control of molluscan shellfish produced and sold for human consumption, as described at 7:12-1.1(k) .
"NSSP Guide" means the NSSP Guide for the Control of Molluscan Shellfish, as described at 7:12-1.1(k) .
"Person" means and includes any individual, company, firm, corporation, association, society, partnership, joint stock company and their agents or employees and shall also include the State and all its political subdivisions, any agencies or instrumentalities thereof.
"Poisonous or deleterious substance" means a toxic substance occurring naturally or added to the environment for which a regulatory tolerance limit or action level has been established in shellfish to protect public health.
"Polyculture" means the culturing in a common environment of two or more species of shellfish, or of shellfish with other species.
"Prohibited" means waters that, pursuant to 7:12-1.3 , meet the criteria set forth in the NSSP Guide such that no harvest of shellfish is allowed for direct marketing, depuration, or relay. Prohibited waters are delineated at 7:12-2.1 .
"Prohibited areas" means certain Condemned areas meeting specified sanitary standards as set forth by the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC).
"Refrigeration" means a mechanical unit that is chilled to a temperature of 45 degrees Fahrenheit (7.2 degrees Celsius) or colder at the time shellfish are placed in the unit and maintained at that temperature thereafter.
"Relay" means the movement of shellfish from waters classified as Restricted to waters classified as Approved for the purpose of reducing pathogens as measured by the coliform indicator group or poisonous or deleterious substances that may be present in the shellfish by using the ambient water as the treatment process.
"Relaying" means the taking of market size shellfish from areas other than approved areas, for replanting in approved areas for purposes of purification prior to marketing.
"Research" means the taking of shellfish from areas other than approved, for purposes of scientific investigation requiring naturally contaminated shellfish.
"Restricted" means waters that, pursuant to 7:12-1.3 , meet the criteria set forth in the NSSP Guide such that shellfish shall not be harvested except for depuration or relay pursuant to a permit under this chapter. Restricted waters are delineated at 7:12-3.2 .
"Sanctuary" means an area established by the department for research purposes.
"Seasonal area" means waters condemned and opened for the harvest of shellfish each year automatically by operation of the regulations in this chapter.
"Seasonal Special Restricted Area" means certain Condemned waters meeting specified sanitary standards as set forth by the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC) during a portion of the year. The areas so designated will automatically, by operation of regulations according to the schedule in 7:12-5.1, be available for use under the special permit programs sanctioned by the Department.
"Seed" means shellfish that have a maximum shell length, when measured across the largest dimension, as follows: for hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria), equal to or less than one inch (25.4 mm); for eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica), equal to or less than one and one-half inches (38.1 mm); for blue mussel (Mytilus edulis), equal to or less than one-half inch (12.7 mm); for bay scallop (Argopecten irradians), equal to or less than one-third inch (eight mm); for soft clam (Mya arenaria), equal to or less than one-half inch (12.7 mm); and for sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus), equal to or less than two inches (50.8 mm).
"Shellfish" means any species of oysters, clams, mussels, or scallops live in the shell.
"Shellfish license" means the applicable commercial shellfish license issued by the Department's Division of Fish and Wildlife.
"Shellfish Resource Recovery Steering Committee" or "SRRSC" means a committee of representatives from the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Health and Senior Services who have the regulatory responsibilities for resource recovery programs.
"Soft clams" means the species Mya arenaria.
"Spawner area" means those areas established by the department to re-establish shellfish populations.
"Special Permit Programs" means programs developed to utilize shellfish from waters classified other than approved.
"Special Restricted areas" means certain Condemned areas meeting specified sanitary standards as set forth by the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference. Application for removal of shellfish to be used for human consumption from areas classified as Special Restricted will be considered for transplant, transfer, relaying, and depuration/controlled purification.
"Subtidal harvesting" means the harvesting of shellfish from the area that lies below the low tide line and is normally covered by water.
"Tide-dependent harvesting" means subtidal harvesting that can only be accomplished during a stage of the tide cycle allowing the harvester access to the shellfish.
"Transfer" means the movement of shellfish from leased land located in a Condemned area to leased lands located in an Approved area for the purposes of propagation and/or purification.
"Transplant" means the harvest of seed from waters classified as Restricted for replanting and grow-out in waters classified as Approved for a minimum of six months.
"Transplanting" means the taking of submarket size shellfish from areas other than approved areas for replanting in approved areas until they grow to market size.
