Bill Text: NJ S655 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits harvest, landing, processing, or sale of wild sargassum in NJ.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee [S655 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S655-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator ANDREW R. CIESLA
District 10 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits harvest, landing, processing, or sale of wild sargassum in NJ.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning sargassum and supplementing P.L.1979, c.199 (C.23:2B-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. No person shall harvest wild sargassum from the waters of the State.
b. No person shall land in the State wild sargassum harvested from or outside of the waters of the State.
c. No person shall process, sell, or offer for sale in the State wild sargassum or any product that includes wild sargassum as an ingredient.
d. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, the Department of Environmental Protection may issue a permit for the harvest, landing, processing, or sale of wild sargassum in the State for scientific or educational purposes only.
2. This act shall take effect on the 60th day after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill would prohibit the harvest, landing, processing, or sale of wild sargassum in the State.
Sargassum, also known as sargassum grass, gulfweed, or tuna weed, is a brown algae. It is a critical natural resource found in warm waters, providing essential habitat for numerous marine invertebrates and vertebrates and serving as a spawning and nursery area for many species of fish with recreational and commercial value. The harvest of sargassum for such uses as fertilizer and animal dietary supplements is a threat to the marine environment. This bill would help protect this important and valuable marine resource.
A violator of the bill's provisions would be subject to the penalties prescribed for a violation of the "Marine Fisheries Management and Commercial Fisheries Act," P.L.1979, c.199 (C.23:2B-1 et seq.), which the bill supplements. These penalties include civil fines ranging from $10 to $5,000, depending upon how the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, with the approval of the Marine Fisheries Council, exercises certain discretionary authority prescribed in the law.
