Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024
(a) No
licenses authorized by
N.J.S.A. 50:3-1 shall be issued except as a
renewal for those vessels validly licensed during the year prior to that of the
license to be issued.
(b) The owner
of a licensed oyster dredge vessel shall be legally domiciled or incorporated
in the State of New Jersey.
(c) No
vessel owned wholly or in part by a nonresident and licensed in any other state
to catch oysters on natural beds or grounds in such other state shall be
licensed in this State within the same year in which such license to catch
oysters in such other state shall have been or shall be issued.
(d) For the purposes of licensing, gross
tonnage shall be determined based on one of the following:
1. For vessels five gross tons or less that
are not eligible for a United States Coast Guard Certificate of Documentation
and were built in the United States, the applicant shall provide a current New
Jersey Motor Vehicle Registration for the vessel and shall certify that the
vessel is not eligible for a United States Coast Guard Certificate of
Documentation.
2. For vessels
greater than five gross tons that were built in the United States, the
applicant shall provide a current copy of the United States Coast Guard
Certificate of Documentation for the vessel. The Certificate of Documentation
shall include the owner's name and address as well as the dimensions and gross
tonnage of the vessel.
3. For any
vessel built outside of the United States, the applicant shall provide gross
tonnage documentation in accordance with
N.J.A.C. 7:25A-1.5(k).
(e) A person who wholly owns more
than one licensed oyster dredge vessel may consolidate up to six licenses and
the remaining amount of each vessel's assigned annual harvest quota to a single
designated harvest vessel and obtain a consolidated license, provided the
following conditions are met:
1. All licensed
oyster dredge vessels proposed for consolidation under a single license,
including the designated harvest vessel, are wholly owned by that
person.
2. The person seeking to
consolidate licenses shall file with the Department a notarized Statement of
Intent indicating that the person wishes to consolidate the license(s) and the
entire unharvested amount of the annual harvest quota for a maximum of six
licensed oyster dredge vessels to a designated harvest vessel. The license of
the designated harvest vessel shall be included as one of the maximum of six
licenses that may be consolidated. The Statement of Intent shall identify the
vessel or vessels from which the annual harvest quota(s) is requested to be
consolidated as well as the designated harvest vessel to receive the annual
harvest quota(s) and the amount of the annual harvest quota(s) to be
transferred from each vessel to the designated harvest vessel. A new notarized
Statement of Intent is not required to be filed with an application to renew a
consolidated license if there is no change in the licenses to be
consolidated.
3. Upon issuance by
the Department of a consolidated license approving the consolidation of
licenses and annual harvest quotas, with associated annual tags, of multiple
vessels to a designated harvest vessel, the license holder of the consolidated
license shall harvest the annual tag allotment assigned to each licensed oyster
dredge vessel one allotment at a time. Only upon exhaustion of one vessel's tag
allotment may the license holder of the consolidated license begin to harvest
the annual tag allotment of another licensed oyster dredge vessel included
under the consolidated license. The tags for each allotment shall be used
sequentially in the order issued for the specific oyster harvest
license.
4. Once a license and
annual harvest quota have been consolidated on a designated harvest vessel in
accordance with (e)1 through 3 above, that license and any remaining annual
harvest quota attributable to that license may be consolidated on to a
different designated harvest vessel only one time during the term of the
license. A person who wishes to consolidate a license and the associated annual
harvest quota from the original designated harvest vessel to a different
designated harvest vessel shall provide the documentation and information
specified in (e)2 above, for the vessels involved in the requested
consolidation. The second transfer shall comply with all requirements specified
in this subsection.
5.
Notwithstanding the limitation on transfer of a consolidated license to a
different designated harvest vessel specified in (e)4 above, a consolidated
license may be unconsolidated for the purpose of transferring ownership of a
vessel and license in accordance with
N.J.A.C. 7:25A-1.5(c)2.
6. A consolidated license shall not be issued
if it would result in an annual harvest quota to a single designated harvest
vessel greater than that allowed under six individual annual harvest
quotas.
(f) For vessels
five gross tons or less qualifying under (d)1 above, the minimum annual license
fee of $ 10.00 established at
N.J.S.A. 50:3-2 applies. For vessels
qualifying under (d)2 or 3 above, the annual license fee of $ 2.00 per gross
ton established at
N.J.S.A. 50:3-2 applies.
