Additional Shellfish Beds in New Jersey’s Barnegat Bay Reopened
OutdoorHub 01.30.13
Shellfish beds in Barnegat Bay south of the Route 37 bridge to Oyster Creek reopened at sunrise today as a result of an order signed by Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin. These beds had been closed since October 29 as part of a statewide closure of all New Jersey shellfish beds to commercial and recreational harvesting due to concerns over degradation of coastal water quality caused by Superstorm Sandy.
All but two of the state’s shellfish areas that were closed have now been now reopened. The two areas that remain closed are Raritan Bay (due to concerns with sporadic wastewater discharges from the Middlesex County Utilities Authority’s Sayreville pump station) and beds in Barnegat Bay from Oyster Creek south to Little Egg Inlet.
For more information, including a link to a map of reopened shellfish beds, visit http://www.state.nj.us/dep/newsrel/2013/13_0008.htm on the NJDEP website.
