http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/09/nj_environmental_officials_reo.htmlTRENTON — State environmental officials Tuesday reopened most of the shellfish beds along the New Jersey coast line after tests showed no health risk in the wake of Hurricane Irene.
The beds of clams, oysters and mussels from Sandy Hook to Cape May Point, and the beds from Metedeconk River to Cape May Point, are open, the state Department of Environmental Protection said in a news release.
The department issued a statewide ban on shellfish harvesting Aug. 27 due to concerns about degradation of water quality from large volumes of storm water caused by Irene.
Clams, oysters and mussels are filter feeders that can accumulate harmful bacteria carried into waterways by storm water, DEP said. But tissue samples met federal health standards, the release said.
A decision to reopen the remaining beds in the northern estuaries including Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay and the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers could be made as early as Wednesday after test results are analyzed, DEP said.
Weather permitting, the DEP will also collect tissue samples Wednesday from Delaware Bay.
