Statewide Shellfish Closure - Hurricane Irene

Partial Re-Opening Notice from 10/4/11:
Having determined through sample monitoring that specific Approved, Seasonally Approved and Special Restricted waters of a portion of the Delaware Bay of New Jersey are now safe for the harvesting of shellfish in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:12 et seq., the prohibition is now revoked on the waters listed below; they are returned to their prior classification, effective immediately.

Specifically the areas involved with this partial re-opening include:

All of the New Jersey state waters of the Delaware Bay starting from Ben Davis Point at Latitude 39 degrees 17 minutes 36.564 seconds N, Longitude -75 degrees 17 minutes 21.552 seconds W,  southwest bound through sampling stations 3800F at  Latitude 39 degrees 17 minutes 0.42 seconds N, Longitude -75 degrees 18 minutes 4.68 seconds W, and station 3800 at  Latitude 39 degrees 15 minutes 30.42 seconds N, Longitude -75 degrees 19 minutes 52.716 seconds W, to a point on the New Jersey/Delaware state boundary line at Latitude 39 degrees 15 minutes 10.158 seconds N, Longitude -75 degrees 20 minutes 17.038 seconds W, then following the New Jersey/Delaware boundary line northwest bound to a point at Latitude 39 degrees 27 minutes 3.65 seconds N, Longitude -75 degrees 33 minutes 9.05 seconds W, then northeast bound to the southern dome at the Salem Nuclear Power Plant, then following the shoreline to the point of origin and terminating.

This re-opening means that all New Jersey waters are now back to their prior classification following the closure because of degraded water quality resulting from exceptional rainfall conditions from Hurricane Irene.

Please click here for the official notice and map. Please click the adjacent Delaware Bay map for the most recent test results.

Partial Re-Opening Notice from 9/29/11:
Having determined through sample monitoring that specific Approved, Seasonally Approved and Special Restricted waters of a portion of the Delaware Bay of New Jersey are now safe for the harvesting of shellfish in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:12 et seq., the prohibition is now revoked on the waters listed below; they are returned to their prior classification, effective immediately.

Specifically the areas involved with this partial re-opening include:

All of the New Jersey waters of the Delaware Bay south of a line from Ben Davis Point at Latitude 39 degrees 17 minutes 36.564 seconds N, Longitude -75 degrees 17 minutes 21.552 seconds W,  southwest bound through sampling stations 3800F at  Latitude 39 degrees 17 minutes 0.42 seconds N, Longitude -75 degrees 18 minutes 4.68 seconds W, and station 3800 at  Latitude 39 degrees 15 minutes 30.42 seconds N, Longitude -75 degrees 19 minutes 52.716 seconds W to a point on the state boundary line at Latitude 39 degrees 15 minutes 10.158 seconds N, Longitude 75 degrees 20 minutes 17.038 seconds W.

This re-opening applies ONLY to the shellfish waters specified above.  This re-opening does not include the New Jersey Delaware Bay shellfish waters north of the line specified above, which will continue to be closed until FURTHER NOTICE.

Please click here for the official notice and map. Please click the adjacent Delaware Bay map for the most recent test results.

Partial Re-Opening Notice from 9/8/11:
Having determined through sample monitoring that specific Approved, Seasonally Approved and Special Restricted waters of the Delaware Bay of New Jersey are now safe for the harvesting of shellfish in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:12 et seq., the prohibition is now revoked on the waters listed below; they are returned to their prior classification, effective immediately.

Specifically the areas involved with this partial re-opening include:

All of the New Jersey waters of the Delaware Bay south of a line from Beadon Point (Latitude 39.2447166, Longitude -75.19019194) through the abandoned Cross Ledge lighthouse at Latitude 39.1627089, Longitude -75.236464, to the state boundary line.

This re-opening applies ONLY to the shellfish waters specified above.  This re-opening does not include the New Jersey Delaware Bay shellfish waters north of the line specified above, which will continue to be closed until FURTHER NOTICE.

Please click here for the official notice and map. Please click the adjacent maps for the most recent test results.

Partial Re-Opening Notice from 9/7/11:
Having determined through sample monitoring that specific Approved, Seasonally Approved and Special Restricted waters of the coastal areas of New Jersey are now safe for the harvesting of shellfish in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:12 et seq., the prohibition is now revoked on the waters listed below; they are returned to their prior classification, effective immediately.

Specifically the areas involved with this partial re-opening include:

All of the waters north of and including the Metedeconk River through the Raritan and Sandy Hook Bays.  

This re-opening applies ONLY to the shellfish waters specified above.  All other Approved, Seasonally Approved and Special Restricted waters of the State of New Jersey will continue to be closed until FURTHER NOTICE. Please click here for the official notice and map. Please click the adjacent maps for the most recent test results.

Partial Re-Opening Notice from 9/6/11:
Having determined through sample monitoring that specific Approved, Seasonally Approved and Special Restricted waters of the coastal areas of New Jersey are now safe for the harvesting of shellfish in accordance with N.J.A.C. 7:12 et seq., the prohibition is now revoked on the waters listed below; they are returned to their prior classification.

All of the coastal back bay waters south of the Metedeconk River to Cape May Point as well as all of the ocean waters of the State of New Jersey.  

This re-opening applies ONLY to the shellfish waters specified above.  All other Approved, Seasonally Approved and Special Restricted waters of the State of New Jersey will continue to be closed until FURTHER NOTICE. Please click here for the official notice and map. Please click the adjacent maps for the most recent test results.

Closure Notice:
The commercial and recreational harvest ban on New Jersey shellfish has been in effect since August 27th due to concerns about degradation of water quality in more than 720,000 acres of shellfish beds in the state's ocean waters and estuaries. To see the official Closure Notice of Shellfish Beds Statewide due to Hurricane Irene - click here. To view the August 31st Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) press release - click here.

Bivalves such as clams, oysters and mussels are filter feeders that can accumulate harmful bacteria carried into waterways by stormwater. The DEP advises residents and visitors to avoid consuming clams, oysters and mussels taken from state waters until further notice. The Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) urges commercial and recreational harvesters, certified shellfish dealers, and the public to observe all harvesting restrictions because ingesting shellfish from closed beds could potentially cause illness.

In response to Hurricane Irene:
Daily fecal coliform testing has been conducted since Monday August 29th. Testing this week indicated that bacteria levels exceeded the federal criteria set to protect the public in the consumption of shellfish. Click the adjacent maps for the most recent update.

The DEP will continue to test waters at shellfish beds across the state. Once the water meets the federal standard, a minimum of seven days must pass before the shellfish tissue is tested to ensure no bacteria are present in the shellfish. This process ensures bacteria have had a chance to be flushed from the shellfish.

Procedures for Re-Opening Closed Shellfish Beds:

The procedures for re-opening closed shellfish areas that have been impacted by pollutants are outlined in the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations' National Sanitary Shellfish Program (NSSP) Guide for the Control of Molluscan Shellfish. If New Jersey failed to follow U.S. Food and Drug Administrations' NSSP guidance we would lose our ability to ship shellfish out of state, putting at risk the nation's second largest shellfish industry estimated at generating $876 million and supporting 5,800 full-time jobs.

Essentially, once a shellfish area has been closed due to elevated bacteria levels the waters must be monitored until bacteria levels return to within the standard. Once that has occurred, the DEP must wait 7 days for the shellfish, which are filter feeders, to purge themselves of the bacteria. After the 7 days, the DEP collects actual samples of the shellfish and tests the tissue of the animals using a coliphage test, which takes 24 hours. If bacteria is within NSSP criteria, the shellfish area may be reopened by the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection.

The DEP works cooperatively with the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure the safety of shellfish harvested from state waters. The DEP monitors, classifies and enforces shellfish regulations in 425,830 acres of estuarine beds and 295,857 acres of ocean beds. The DHSS Food Safety Program regularly inspects shellfish processing plants to ensure they follow regulations that outline health and safety precautions. Shellfish samples are regularly collected from harvest areas, certified shellfish dealers and retailers for bacteriological examination. The program oversees a certification program which requires all wholesale shellfish dealers to handle, process, and ship shellfish under sanitary conditions and maintain records verifying that the shellfish were obtained from approved areas.

The DEP is working as hard as possible to reopen shellfish harvesting but must also be diligent in protecting public health and the shellfish industry.