New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 25 - DIVISION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE RULES › Subchapter 5 - 2020-2021 GAME CODE › Section 7:25-5.1 - General provisions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) Judicial Notice. 13:1B-34 provides in pertinent part, "(C)opies of the State Fish and Game Code, and its amendments, duly certified by the Chairman of the council shall be received in evidence in all court or other judicial proceedings in the State."
(b) Time: The hours listed in this Code are EST or EDT at date and are based on Trenton time. A copy of the official time table for Trenton is on file at the Office of Administrative Law and is available from that agency or the Division. Time tables for Trenton time are also published in the annual Summary of Game Regulations and Trenton time shall be the Statewide official time.
(c) This Code, when adopted and when effective, shall supersede the provisions of the 2006-2012 Game Code.
(d) The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
1. "Air gun" means any shoulder-mounted firearm which by the force of a spring, air or other non-ignited compressed gas expels a missile or projectile and has a rifled or smooth barrel, using ammunition no smaller than .177 caliber and no larger than .22 caliber producing projectile velocities of not less than 600 feet per second measured at the muzzle. Noise reduction systems, which are included in the definition of "firearm silencer," at 2C:39-1.g, are prohibited at 2C:39-3.c.
2. "Antlered deer" means any deer with at least one antler measuring at least three inches in length.
3. "Antlered muzzleloader permit," "antlered shotgun permit," or "antlered bow permit" means the additional purchase to the regular muzzleloader, shotgun, or bow zone-specific antlerless permit that contains an antlered deer transportation tag and allows for the pursuit and harvest of an antlered deer only.
4. "Antlerless deer" means any deer which does not have any antler measuring at least three inches in length. For the purposes of this definition, shed antlered deer and deer with broken antlers which measure less than three inches are considered antlerless deer.
5. "Antler length" means the maximum length of a deer antler measured from the lowest outside edge of the antler burr along the outer curve to the most distant point of what is or appears to be the main antler beam. For the purposes of this definition, the antler length does not include the pedicel or portion of skull between the skull plate and base of the antler burr.
6. An "antler point" is defined as at least one inch long from its tip to its base line, and the length must exceed the width at some location at least one inch down from the tip.
7. "Apprentice license" means a resident or non-resident firearm or bow and arrow license issued to a person who is at least 18 years of age for firearms and at least 14 years of age for bow and arrow without meeting the requirement of a hunter safety education course. The apprentice license holder shall only hunt with an accompanying firearm or bow and arrow licensed hunter at least 21 years of age. A person may not serve as an accompanying firearm hunting license holder to more than one holder of an apprentice firearm hunting license at a time. A holder of an apprentice license may hunt in any open season, as defined by license type, except as provided at N.J.A.C. 7:25-5.6 and 5.19. The apprentice license shall be void after December 31 of the year of its issuance and may be issued to a person only twice during the person's lifetime.
8. "Automated Harvest Report System" or "AHRS" replaces live check stations for designated species and is the means by which a hunter registers a harvested animal via the Internet or telephone.
9. "Bag limit" means the amount of permitted take per person per season, except in a permit season the "bag limit" is the amount of permitted take per permit per season.
10. "Checking station" means the place or method of registering a harvest, as required by this subchapter, for any game animal with a legal hunting or trapping season. A checking station may be considered either a physical location or the Automated Harvest Report System (AHRS), as designated by the Division pursuant to 23:4-47.
11. "Conservation ID Number" means the lifetime identification number assigned to sportsmen and sportswomen when they initially obtain a license, permit, or child support certification through the electronic licensing system (ELS) beginning in 2006 and thereafter.
12. "Deer check station" means a physical location, as designated by the Division, where a hunter must bring his or her deer on the day of kill to be registered as a legally harvested deer; or an "Automated Harvest Report System" (AHRS) by which a hunter registers the harvested deer via the Internet or telephone as designated by the Division.
13. "Earn-a-buck" requirement means that deer hunters must harvest an antlerless deer from within a specified zone or zones before taking or attempting to take an antlered deer in the prescribed season or season period, and deer management zone.
14. "Electronic License System" or "ELS" means the integrated web-based and license agent-based automated electronic license purchasing system used by the Division of Fish and Wildlife to sell hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses and permits.
15. "Enclosed foothold trap" means a live-capture trap with a trigger which is activated by pulling, as enumerated in 7:25-5.12(g)1 through 5.
16. "Immediate family," for the purpose of determining eligibility for permits within the special farmer turkey, deer, and bear permit sections of this Code, means the spouse, child, stepchild, stepparent, legal guardian, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, great grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, stepsister, stepbrother, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law of the farm owner or lessee who resides thereon.
17. "Leftover permits" means those permits within the amount presented as the permit quota remaining after closure of the initial permit-granting process.
18. "Limited quota, special deer permits" means bow, muzzleloader, or shotgun special deer seasons permits for special management areas including military bases, National Wildlife Refuges, State and county parks, and other areas that require application or issuance of special deer permits through the Division issued by random drawing because demand for permits is expected to exceed the supply.
19. "Local time" means the time applicable in the State, reflecting either daylight saving or eastern standard time, on the date the rule is to be applied.
20. "New Jersey Supplemental Deer Transportation Tag" means the paper deer permit and transportation tag issued by mandatory deer check stations after registration of a deer taken on a regular license or special season permit. The "New Jersey Supplemental Deer Transportation Tag" will allow the hunter to continue hunting and take one additional deer subject to applicable sections of this Code. The transportation tag is completed and affixed to a deer immediately upon killing by the hunter.
21. "Permit quota" means the maximum amount of permits allocated for a given locality, season, or species category.
22. "Possession tag" means the tag or metal seal affixed to the animal by Division personnel or designated agent.
23. "Regulation Set" means a group of deer management zones, as designated by the Division, that all have the same season dates and bag limits.
24. "Relaxing lock" means that component of a live capture cable restraint intended to create and maintain a loop; and that stops tightening when the captured animal stops pulling against the cable restraint. Cam-locks and spring-assisted locking systems are prohibited for the purposes of this definition.
25. "Special Areas" are deer management zones where hunter access is controlled by a regulating authority, and may include, but are not limited to, Federal, State, county, and private lands, as designated by the Division.
26. "Traditional muzzleloader rifle" means a single shot, single barrel, side-lock percussion or flintlock firearm with iron or peep sights and a wooden stock. In-line ignition, center-hammer, and under-hammer muzzleloaders are not included in this definition. Scopes, Sabot slugs, and jacketed projectiles are prohibited for the purposes of this definition.
27. "Transportation tag" or "harvest report stub" means the tag portion of the hunting license or special permit that is removed and affixed to the animal immediately upon kill or removal from the trap. It is also a tag supplied by the Division with the beaver and otter trapping license.