N.J. Admin. Code § 7:12-9.5

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 7:12-9.5 - Soft clam and/or hard clam depuration plant permit

(a) The Soft Clam and/or Hard Clam Depuration Plant Permit authorizes a depuration plant to possess soft and/or hard clams harvested from Restricted waters for further processing. This permit completes the control link between the harvest of soft and/or hard clams regulated under the Soft Clam and/or Hard Clam Depuration Harvester Permit at 7:12-9.6and the processing of the harvested clams, which is regulated by the Department of Health and requires that the depuration plant obtain a certificate to operate from the Department of Health under that department's rules at N.J.A.C. 8:13-2.

1. Any person who seeks certification from the Department of Health for the construction and/or operation of a depuration plant shall submit to the Department for approval a shellfish transportation plan designed to control shellfish transportation between the harvest area and the depuration plant in order to prevent shellfish from being illegally diverted to direct marketing. The shellfish transportation plan shall include measures such as surveillance of the vessel or vehicle used to transport shellfish, predetermined route from harvest site to depuration plant, GPS tracking of the vehicle used to transport the shellfish, use of a tamper-evident seal on the vehicle used to transport the shellfish, and/or a count of both the quantity of shellfish transported from the harvest area and the quantity received at the depuration plant.

2. In the event that transporting shellfish directly by vessel to the depuration plant cannot be accomplished because of adverse weather conditions (for example, bay and river icing) or other circumstance as determined by the Department, the depuration plant shall submit to the Department for prior approval a shellfish transportation plan satisfying the requirements of (a)1 above.

(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 Plant Permit shall submit:

1. A provisional shellfish certificate to operate on an interim basis issued by the Department of Health pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:13-2; or

2. If a final shellfish certificate to operate has been issued by the Department of Health pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:13-2, the final certificate that is valid for the year for which the Soft Clam and/or Hard Clam Depuration Plant Permit is sought.

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

1. The only shellfish that may be possessed under the permit are soft clams (Mya arenaria) and/or hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) as specified in the permit document issued to the depuration plant.

2. The depuration plant shall issue to each harvester who reports in person to the plant on a harvest day a specific number of Department of Health approved primary containers, based on the plant's daily processing capacity, and additional alternate containers if requested by the harvester. The plant shall mark all containers with a serial number.

3. The depuration plant shall affix to each primary container a time and date stamped Harvester Allocation Tag as required by the Department of Health in accordance with N.J.A.C. 8:13-2.

4. On each harvest day by 8:30 A.M. or prior to any harvest activity, the depuration plant shall notify the Department's Division of Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Law Enforcement, Marine Region, to provide the names of each harvester, the area(s) to be worked by each harvester, and the number of containers (primary and alternate) issued to each harvester. The depuration plant shall report to the Marine Region any changes in harvest activity prior to the start of such activity.

5. The depuration plant shall not accept any primary container that does not have attached to it a time and date stamped Harvester Allocation Tag. The depuration plant shall account for assigned alternate containers and, after the harvester transfers the clams in the alternate containers to the corresponding primary containers, shall reassign the Harvester Allocation Tag on the primary containers to that harvester. The depuration plant shall time and date stamp each Harvester Allocation Tag at the completion of off-loading, and enter on the tag the depuration harvester's permit number and the number of clams in that container. These Harvester Allocation Tags shall be affixed to the containers in which the clams are depurated.

6. The depuration plant shall possess soft and/or hard clams harvested only from the waters specified on the charts attached to the permit document issued to the plant 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.

7. The depuration plant shall purchase shellfish only from harvesters who possess a valid shellfish license and a valid Soft Clam and/or Hard Clam Depuration Harvester Permit issued pursuant to 7:12-9.6.

8. The depuration plant shall maintain a harvest depuration record of each purchase, including date, quantity of purchase, each harvester's name and address, harvest site, and all Harvester Allocation Tags and harvester depuration receipts at the plant for a period of not less than one year.

9. The depuration plant shall provide weekly reports to the Department's Division of Fish and Wildlife. Such reports shall be submitted within five working days of the week's end (Saturday) and shall contain the following information for each day:

i. The name and permit number of the harvester;

ii. The area worked;

iii. The total number of containers out and in; and

iv. The total number of clams by size harvested from each area(s);

10. The suspension or revocation of the shellfish certificate to operate issued by the Department of Health under N.J.A.C. 8:13-2 for a specific depuration plant shall invalidate that plant's Soft Clam and/or Hard Clam Depuration Plant Permit issued under this section.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:12-9.5

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