N.J. Admin. Code § 7:25-12.7

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

Section 7:25-12.7 - General control methods

(a) Except as provided at 7:25-12.6(a), a person or vessel shall not take, attempt to take, harvest, or dredge for surf clams, or participate therein, in any State waters without first obtaining a surf clam license and harvest tags as described in 7:25-12.12 and 7:25-12.14, or bait clam vessel license as described in 7:25-12.15.

(b) The general methods by which the Department shall control the harvest of surf clams from State waters are as follows:

1. The captain of a surf clam vessel possessing a surf clam license, or of a licensed bait clam vessel, or his or her designee, shall notify the Department of the intended fishing location of the vessel and the intended port and time of landing each day it fishes in State waters. The notification shall be made by calling the Division's Marine Enforcement Unit, Bureau of Law Enforcement, at (609) 748-2050, prior to fishing in State waters and prior to change of location. Changes in port of landing or time of landing must be given four hours prior to landing.

2. Any person fishing for surf clams at any time, or who has reported his intention to fish, in State waters shall have the vessel's entire harvest for that fishing trip counted as part of the licensed season allocation of surf clams.

3. A person shall not transfer surf clams from a surf clam vessel or bait clam vessel to any other vessel. All surf clams harvested in State waters shall be landed in this State. Specific hours of landing may be designated by the Division. A person shall not operate a surf clam vessel or bait clam vessel to fish in or land surf clams from both State and Federal waters on a single fishing trip. A surf clam vessel shall not land any quahogs or surf clams taken from Federal waters during the same fishing trip for which the Division's Marine Enforcement Unit, Bureau of Law Enforcement, has received notification of intent to use that vessel in State waters to harvest surf clams.

4. All surf clams shall be landed in their shells and offloaded in cages. All surf clam cages containing surf clams shall be tagged with tags obtained from the Division before offloading. The tags must be used sequentially as issued. Tags shall not be removed until cages are emptied at the processing plant, at which point the removed tags shall be destroyed and discarded.

5. It shall be unlawful to possess an empty cage to which a tag required at (b)4 above is affixed.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:25-12.7

Amended by R.1995 d.632, effective 12/4/1995.
See: 27 New Jersey Register 3269(a), 27 New Jersey Register 4888(a).