NJ DEP Issues Reminder About Ban on Crabs in Lower Passiac River & Newark Bay

[Ron]

NJ DEP released this this morning...

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DEP ISSUES REMINDER ABOUT BAN ON BLUE CLAW CRABBING
HEALTHY LOOKING CRABS POSE HEALTH RISK

(11/P83) TRENTON - The Department of Environmental Protection is reminding State residents that harvesting blue claw crabs from the waters of the Lower Passaic River and Newark Bay is prohibited, as scientists have found that crabs from those waters continue to show harmful levels of cancer-causing dioxin and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), as well as other contaminants, including mercury.

A coordinated multi-language education effort is underway this week, with the help of community groups and municipalities in the Lower Passaic and Newark Bay region, to get a reminder message out to area residents about the negative health effects of crabbing in those waters.

DEP enforcement officers and community and environmental organizations have monitored waters in the region this spring and found that many of the warning signs regarding the dangers of crabbing have been torn down and that some residents continue to fish for blue claw crabs.

"We strongly urge people not to eat crabs pulled from those waters. This is a matter of public health and safety for people who live in neighborhoods in that region,'' said DEP Commissioner Bob Martin. "Until the water quality issues are resolved, we are asking people to observe the ban on crabbing in that area. There are plenty of other places in clean waters for good, healthy fishing and crabbing in New Jersey.''

Contaminants found in blue claw crabs and some fish pulled from waters in this region can be especially harmful to fetuses and infants, so women of child-bearing years, pregnant women and nursing mothers should not eat these crabs. Children also are at risk of developmental and neurological problems if exposed to these chemicals.

"There is no way to prepare crabs from these waters to make them safe for consumption,'' said
Acting State Department of Health and Senior Services Commissioner Dr. Tina Tan.

The blue claw crab is a bottom dweller and feeder that has grown in size and increased in abundance in the Newark Bay Complex and Lower Passaic River in recent years because the area is closed to commercial crabbing. That increased size and abundance has made the blue claw crabs even more attractive to some crabbers, who ignore the ban on crabbing and consumption, which has been in effect since the mid-1980s.

"Some people don't want to believe there is a problem,'' said Gary Buchanan, manager of the DEP's Office of Science, which has extensively studied these waters. "Because these crabs look really healthy, many people may not truly comprehend the problem and, as a result, ignore our warnings. But those crabs are not healthy and should not be eaten.''

To inform residents of risks of eating blue claw crabs pulled from the Lower Passaic River and Newark Bay aquatic complex, the DEP is working with the State Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), local partners, and officials of 44 municipalities and 6 counties -- Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Union and Passaic - affected by this issue.

A long-term outreach and education effort being conducted by the DHSS Seafood and Shellfish Project has distributed nearly 200,000 copies of a brochure in English and Spanish that warns of the effects of dioxins on children.

The region in question is a highly industrialized urban area that includes Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill and Kill Van Kull, and the tidal portions of the Hackensack, Passaic, Elizabeth, and Rahway rivers.

In 2005, the DEP and State Attorney General's Office filed a lawsuit against the companies responsible for the intentional discharge of dioxins into the Lower Passaic River. At that time, dioxin concentrations in Passaic River crabs and fish were among the highest in the world. That lawsuit is still pending in Superior Court.

Additionally, the DEP is now working with the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on plans for a cleanup of an eight-mile stretch of the Lower Passaic River. In a separate action, responsible parties are preparing to remove about 40,000 cubic yards of dioxin-contaminated sediments in a portion of Lower Passaic River. That work is scheduled to begin this summer.

Persons who violate the crabbing ban in the Lower Passaic and Newark Bay are subject to fines ranging from $300 to $3,000 for a first offense.

For more information on the ban, including Spanish and Portuguese language information, visit: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/dsr/crab-outreach/alert-english.htm

For a full listing of marine fish advisories for Newark Bay and the Lower Passaic River, visit: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/dsr/fishadvisories/statewide.htm#newark

To see a list of fish consumption advisories in New Jersey, visit: www.FishSmartEatSmartNJ.org

DHSS link to its Seafood and Shellfish Project:
http://www.state.nj.us/health/foodanddrugsafety/ssp.shtml

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[tattoo]

Great info . thanks. 

[jason22]

Great info, I wonder why they continue to focus on the Lower Passaic River?  I have lived along it my whole lifei n lower Bergen County.  I also worked at a place located on it in Harrison and never once have I ever seen someone crabbing it.  Currents are way to strong and the smell and garbage along the banks is disgusting.  Once in the while you will see a guy fishing for carp but that is mostly because they are using it for bait (I hope  )

Thanks for that info Ron 

[nadapesca]

Okay, now lets hear again from all of the people who have uncles, cousins, friends, etc, who have crabbed Newark Bay and its tributaries for 80 years or so and never got sick once.

Jeez, Forrest Gump woulda understood the signs from the getgo.

By the way, believe it or not, there are some unscrupulous crabbers who will somehow obtain these polluted specimens and sell them.

An interesting note is they don't include the Raritan Bay even though the Arthur Kill drains into it. And that's off limits. They do, however, limit crab meals to 7 a month or a week from Raritan Bay, one or the other. Either way, only 7 crabs are considered safe to eat at a sitting. Why that's only one crab cake the way I make them. You'll never know where they come from as they actually crab Raritan Bay in the winter by dragging. Soooooooooo....ain't far from Perth Amboy!!!!! Best to catch your own.

[Crab Shack]

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[nadapesca]

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I never noticed your friend (won't transfer))  Good production Crabshack!

[Hawkeye]

I was at an event at the Chart House in Weekhawkin NJ.  Beautiful place with a very large dock that extends out of the Hudson River.  Chart house is less than 5 mins drive from the Lincoln Tunnel...and into Manhattan.

Anyways - parked the car and walked with the family in the heat and saw a few guys with cars in the lot obviously crabbing.  One guy had a sizeable pot in his trunk as he was packing up.

So....is it safe to eat these crabs?  This is right on the NY/NJ border so i'm wondering if basically the regs read you can only consume 6-7 per month.

http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/outdoors/fish/health_advisories/regional/hudson_river_and_tributaries.htm

Or is that picture above on the mark?  LOL.....i'd rather be safe and head south...

[lostrap]

And Nothing has Changed since 2011 some are worse, 

[bayonne]

guys crab liberty park all the time no regs saying you cant and in bayonne by the golf course i would not eat anything from it at low tide it stinks like [Sam Hill]
both are on the hudson side

[lostrap]

Been preaching it all summer Crabs do swim.  Storm runoff sends then down stream, I do not will not never had consumed any Crabs or Fish from The Entire Raritan River, Bay, Creeks,  I plan to Enjoy Retirement

[squidspeak]

Great info, I wonder why they continue to focus on the Lower Passaic River?  I have lived along it my whole lifei n lower Bergen County.  I also worked at a place located on it in Harrison and never once have I ever seen someone crabbing it.  Currents are way to strong and the smell and garbage along the banks is disgusting.  Once in the while you will see a guy fishing for carp but that is mostly because they are using it for bait (I hope  )

Thanks for that info Ron  

Can you tell me where the lower Passaic river touches Bergan county. Maybe the upper Hackensack but to the best of my knowledge the lower 8mi. of the Passaic is bordered by Hudson and Essex Cty's. until they meet into Newark bay. Harrison is in Hudson Cnty. and Newark is Essex Cnty. The reason they are trying to clean up the lower 8 mi. is because it was polluted by a multiple list of chem. companies that used it as a toilet. Agent orange was made there and the waste dumped into the river for 20yrs. Diamond Alkaloid sold to a Brazilian comp. that wants to claim bankrupt. Now the Trumpepa wants to loosen rules for waterway regs so companies can dump with no oversight. So eat those big Jammies from those waterways and when your kids get some obscure cancer, VOTE