NJ reopens some Barnegat Bay shellfish beds

TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) — Some shellfish beds in Barnegat Bay are open once again.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental protection reopened beds Tuesday south of the Route 37 bridge in Toms River, extending to Oyster Creek in Lacey Township.

The beds had been closed since Oct. 29 as part of a statewide closure of all New Jersey shellfish beds to commercial and recreational harvesting due to concerns over degraded water quality caused by Superstorm Sandy.

All but two shellfish areas closed for the storm are now open. The exceptions are Raritan Bay (due to concerns with sporadic wastewater discharges from the Middlesex County Utilities Authority’s Sayreville pumping station), and beds in Barnegat Bay from Oyster Creek south to Little Egg Inlet.