Hurricane Sandy

Last of N.J. Shellfish Beds Closed Since Sandy Reopen

Raritan Bay shellfish beds will open April 15

The last of New Jersey's shellfish beds that have been closed since Superstorm Sandy struck Oct. 29, 2012 are in the process of reopening. Shellfish beds in Little Egg Harbor opened Friday morning at sunrise and beds in Raritan Bay will open at sunrise April 15, the state Department of Environmental Protection said Friday. With the resumption of shellfish harvesting in both areas, all of New Jersey's shellfish beds once closed as a result of Superstorm Sandy will now return to the classifications they had before the storm hit at the end of October, the department said in a statement. The vast majority of the waters of Barnegat Bay had been reopened to shellfishing over the past several months, though a small section of Little Egg Harbor, …

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Northern Barnegat Bay Shellfish Beds Reopened

Area was closed to harvesting before Sandy struck

Shellfishing in northern Barnegat Bay can now resume. Shellfish beds throughout the state were closed Oct. 29, the day Superstorm Sandy struck, as a precaution, but were reopened Friday according to an order signed by Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Robert Martin. The reopening in northern Barnegat Bay – defined as the area north of the Route 37 bridge – follows rounds of water monitoring and tissue sampling that found no issues with contamination from bacteria or viruses as a result of the storm Beds in other area of the state, mainly south of Ocean County, reopened in the weeks following the storm. Northern Barnegat Bay, mainly Brick and Toms River, includes approved shellfishing areas as well as seasonal areas open …

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