N.J. Admin. Code § 7:7-9.4

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024

Section 7:7-9.4 - Prime fishing areas

(a) Prime fishing areas include tidal water areas and water's edge areas which have a demonstrable history of supporting a significant local intensity of recreational or commercial fishing activity. These areas include all coastal jetties, groins, public fishing piers or docks, and artificial reefs. Prime fishing areas also include features such as rock outcroppings, sand ridges or lumps, rough bottoms, aggregates such as cobblestones, coral, shell and tubeworms, slough areas and offshore canyons. Prime fishing areas also include areas identified in "New Jersey's Recreational and Commercial Fishing Grounds of Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay and Delaware Bay and The Shellfish Resources of Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook Bay" Figley and McCloy (1988) and those areas identified on the map titled, "New Jersey's Specific Sport Ocean Fishing Grounds." This map is available through the Coastal Management Program's website at http://www.nj.gov/dep/cmp.

(b) Standards relevant to prime fishing areas are as follows:

1. Permissible uses of prime fishing areas include recreational and commercial finfishing and shellfishing, as presently regulated by the Department's Division of Fish and Wildlife, scuba diving and other water related recreational activities.

2. Prohibited uses include sand or gravel submarine mining which would alter existing bathymetry to a significant degree so as to reduce the high fishery productivity of these areas. Disposal of domestic or industrial wastes must meet applicable State and Federal effluent limitations and water quality standards.

(c) Rationale: Natural bathymetric features, such as the Shrewsbury Rocks, important sand ridges, and artificial structures act as congregation areas for many species of finfish, shellfish, and diverse invertebrate species that are essential to marine ecosystem functioning. These areas are heavily used by recreational and commercial fishermen. Commercial fishing occurs primarily along the Delaware Bay and in the Atlantic Ocean off the New Jersey coast. Annually, more than 1,120,000 people, of which 690,000 reside in New Jersey, participate in marine sport fishing and shellfishing. In a recent survey conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service, New Jersey ranked first in the harvest of four of the five most important recreational fish species (summer flounder, bluefish, seabass, and tautog) and ranked second in the harvest of striped bass. The recreational fishery industry is worth $ 1.5 billion annually to the economy of New Jersey. In 2011, New Jersey's commercial fisheries had a dockside value of more than $ 220 million and an overall economic impact of $ 1.3 billion to the State's economy.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:7-9.4

Renumbered from 7:7E-3.4 by 47 N.J.R. 1392(a), effective 7/6/2015

Administrative Change, 51 N.J.R. 1193(a).