Sponsored by:
Assemblyman HERB CONAWAY, JR.
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Directs DEP to identify oyster reefs in need of restoration and allow certain entities to establish no-harvest restoration sites.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the identification and restoration of oyster reefs, and supplementing Title 50 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. It is estimated that 85 percent of Earth's oyster reefs have been lost in the span of a century, and the number of oysters worldwide has decreased to about one percent of what it was in 1900 due to multiple factors, including historic overharvesting, habitat degradation and loss caused by harvesting methods that destroy oyster reefs, such as dredging, diseases that can kill up to 30 percent of oysters in an oyster reef, and degradation of water quality caused by pollution.
b. Oyster reefs are important to the survival of hundreds of recreationally and commercially valuable animals in the ecosystem, including, but not limited to, barnacles, sea anemones, hooked muscles, certain fish species, and crabs, because reefs provide many nooks and crevices that can be used as a habitat, or a place to hide from predators.
c. Oysters are important to global ocean health because they filter, clean, and clear the surrounding water by feeding on particles of food, nutrients, algae, suspended sediments, and other contaminants, a process which supports the growth of underwater grasses, that in turn create a safe and nurturing habitat for juvenile crabs, scallops, and fish. A single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, enough water to fill a bathtub.
d. Healthy oysters reefs act as a natural breakwater and absorb wave energy caused by storms and rising sea levels, which protects the infrastructure in waterfront communities and underwater vegetation crucial to the survival of hundreds of species from the effects of flooding, wave surges, tides, and coastal erosion.
e. The Legislature therefore determines that it is appropriate for the Department of Environmental Protection to provide qualified entities the opportunity to work to restore existing oyster reefs in established no-harvest restoration sites, in order to improve water quality and conditions in the ocean ecosystem.
2. a. The Department of Environmental Protection shall identify existing oyster reefs that are in need of restoration in State waters, including in waters classified as contaminated, restricted, or prohibited from harvest. The department shall allow, under conditions deemed appropriate by the department, malacologists, knowledgeable nonprofits or organizations, and any other entity the department determines is qualified and appropriate, the opportunity to restore the identified oyster reefs by establishing no-harvest restoration sites within them.
b. No later than six months after the effective date of this section, the department shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this section. Such rules and regulations shall include, but need not be limited to, rules and regulations establishing standards, requirements, and best practices for the cultivation of oysters in association with the restoration of oyster reefs, the establishment and maintenance of no-harvest restoration sites, and a process to add or remove the designation of a site as a no-harvest restoration site.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to identify existing oyster reefs that are in need of restoration in State waters. In addition, this bill directs the DEP to allow, under conditions deemed appropriate by the DEP, malacologists, knowledgeable nonprofits or organizations, and any other entity that is qualified and appropriate, the opportunity to restore the identified oyster reefs by establishing no-harvest restoration sites within them. The DEP would be required, under the bill, to adopt rules and regulations to implement the bill's provisions, including, but not limited to, rules and regulations establishing standards, requirements, and best practices for the cultivation of oysters in association with the restoration of oyster reefs, the establishment and maintenance of no-harvest restoration sites, and a process to add or remove the designation of a site as a no-harvest restoration site.