Legal Research Home > New Jersey Lawyer > Shellfish > New Jersey Shellfish Laws Section 50:1-18. Shell Fisheries Council, membership, duties, division into sections.

50:1-18. a. The Shell Fisheries Council shall be composed of 10 members; one each residing in the counties of Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington, Atlantic and Salem, two residents of Cape May county , and three residents of Cumberland county; each of whom shall be a licensed and practicing shellfisherman and shall be chosen with due regard to his knowledge of and interest in the shellfish industry and in the conservation and management of shellfish. Each member of the council shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of four years and shall serve until a successor has been appointed and has qualified.

Any vacancies in the membership of the council occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for the unexpired term only. Any member of the council may be removed from office by the Governor, for cause, upon notice and opportunity to be heard.

The members of the council shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. Each section of the council shall annually elect a chairman of the council from its own members.

b. The council shall, subject to the approval of the commissioner, formulate comprehensive policies for the preservation and improvement of the shellfish industry and resource of the State. The council shall also: (1) consult with and advise the commissioner and the Marine Fisheries Council with respect to the implementation of the shellfisheries program; (2) study the activities of the shellfisheries program and hold hearings with respect thereto as it may deem necessary or desirable; and (3) initiate, by resolution of the council, proposed rules and regulations concerning shellfish to the commissioner.

c. No lease of any of the lands of the State under the tidal waters thereof, to be exclusively used and enjoyed by the lessee for the planting and cultivating of shellfish, shall hereafter be allowed except when approved by a majority of the appropriate section of the council; and no such lease shall hereafter in any case be allowed except when approved and signed by the commissioner.

d. The council shall be divided into two sections , one to be known as the "Delaware Bay Section," consisting of the members from the counties of Cumberland and Salem, and one of the members from Cape May county , and the other to be known as the "Atlantic Coast Section ," consisting of the members from the counties of Atlantic, Burlington, Ocean and Monmouth , and one of the members from Cape May county . In the event only one member from Cape May county has been appointed and has qualified as a member of the council, the qualified member may elect to serve in both sections of the council and participate in the exercise of the powers and performance of the duties of each of the sections until a second member from Cape May county has been appointed and has qualified as a member of the council.

Except as provided in subsection e. of this section, the Delaware Bay Section shall, subject to the approval of the commissioner, exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of the council in matters relating to the shellfish industry in the tidal waters of the Delaware river, Delaware bay and their tributaries.

The Atlantic Coast Section shall, subject to the approval of the commissioner, exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of the council in matters relating to the shellfish industry in all of the tidal waters of the State except in the tidal waters of the Delaware river, Delaware bay and their tributaries.

e. The commissioner, in consultation with the Delaware Bay Section of the Shell Fisheries Council, shall fix fees for all oysters landed from the Delaware river, Delaware bay and their tributaries. These fees shall be collected by and allocated to the Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife and shall be deposited in the "Oyster Resource Development Account," established pursuant to section 8 of P.L.1996, c.112 (C.23:3-12.2).

Amended 1954, c.240; 1979, c.199, s.15; 1996, c.112, s.2.

Last modified: October 22, 2006