50:3-14 Hand tongs required in certain beds.

50:3-14. a. No person shall use or cause to be used any dredge, drag, scrape or other instrument, except hand tongs, for the purpose of catching shellfish from the following named beds, creeks, and rivers of this State, along the shore of Delaware Bay, the areas of which are described by coordinates and bearings taken from the official survey base known as the "New Jersey system of plane coordinates" as defined in article 2 of chapter 3 of Title 51 of the Revised Statutes, viz.:

(1) Elder point beds, Andrews ditch beds, East point beds, described as follows: Beginning at a point with coordinates (X=104,451.54) (Y=40,377.57) said point being now or formerly East Point Lighthouse and running thence N 48 16' 48.910" W 2865.15 meters to a point (X=102,312.9) (Y=42,284.30) on or near the east bank of the mouth of New England Creek; thence following in an easterly direction the shore line and crossing the mouth of the Maurice River and following the shore line to the point of beginning;

(2) High beds and Pepper beds, described as follows: Beginning at a point with coordinates (X=104,451.5) (Y=40,377.57) said point being now or formerly East Point Lighthouse and running thence S 55 06' 44.5440" W 2022.82 meters to a corner (X=102,792.2) (Y=39,220.58) in Delaware Bay the same being corner number 2 of oyster ground number 48 section C now or formerly leased by Robbins and Robbins Inc.; thence N 76 47' 57.9276" W 324.19 meters to a corner (X=102,476.6) (Y=39,294.61) the same being corner No. 3 of oyster ground No. 22 section C now or formerly leased by Robbins and Robbins Inc.; thence N 03 08' 00.7977" W 2994.17 meters to a point (X=102,312.9) (Y=42,284.30) on the east bank of the mouth of New England Creek; thence S 48`-23 ' -07 " E 2,865 meters to the point of beginning;

(3) Dividing Creek beds and Oranoken beds, described as follows: Beginning at a point with coordinates (X=99,599.58) (Y=41,933.40) said point being located on the meadow land at Kenny's Point about 1,829 meters east south east of the mouth of Dividing Creek and running thence S 39 32' 52.0432" W 2,276.59 meters to a corner in Delaware Bay (X=98,158.25) (Y=40,237.93); thence N 69 00' 23.9963" W 2179.71 meters to a corner (X=96,123.23)(Y=41,018.83) on the meadow land said corner being about 880 meters south west of the mouth of Oranoken Creek; thence following the shore line in a north east and east south east direction, crossing the mouths of Oranoken Creek and Dividing Creek to the point of beginning;

(4) Nantuxent Creek beds, Beach Creek beds, Goshen Creek, Dennis Creek, East Creek, West Creek, West Creek beds at the mouth of West Creek, Dividing Creek and its tributaries, Oranoken Creek and its tributaries, Little Brothers and Big Brothers Creeks, Straight Creek, Fishing Creek in Cumberland County, Oyster Creek, Fortescue Creek, Beadons Creek, Sow and Pigs Creek, Dare's Creek, Padgett's Creek, Nantuxent Creek, Cedar Creek, Back Creek, Middle Marsh Creek, Stow Creek, Bidwell Creek, Nantuxent beds at the mouth of Nantuxent Creek, Back Creek beds at the mouth of Back Creek, the Nantuxent beds and Back Creek beds taking in that area north of a line running direct from Nantuxent Point to Ben Davis Point, Cohansey beds at the mouth of Cohansey River, said beds taking in that area north of a line extending from the south bank of the mouth of Middle Marsh Creek direct to Cohansey Point, and Maurice River and Cohansey River; except that during May and June in any year oysters may be taken from the beds in the Cohansey River and Stow Creek by means of dredges.

b. No licenses shall be issued by the Division of Fish and Wildlife contrary to this section. The department, in consultation with the council, may permit the use of hand scrapes or mechanically-retrieved oyster scrapes in certain beds, creeks and tributaries to harvest specific quantities of oysters, provided such use will not be detrimental to the resource in those areas.

Amended 1952, c.184, s.1; 1953, c.261; 2007, c.338, s.54.