Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(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
7:12-1.4
may
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.
