The man reportedly contacted a relative Thursday night to let them know his clamming boat ran aground.
LITTLE EGG HARBOR - Authorities are searching for a missing clam fisherman after his boat reportedly ran aground Thursday night.
At 8 p.m., a clam fisherman reportedly contacted a relative to let them know that his clamming boat ran aground, but that he did not need help, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a release.
Approximately 12 hours later, at 8 a.m. on Friday, the Coast Guard, the New Jersey State Police and the Tuckerton Fire Department initiated a search for the man after he was reported missing.
The man's clamming boat was reportedly found containing fishing gear on Hither Island on Friday morning, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard's Delaware Bay sector dispatched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Atlantic City and a 29-foot Response Boat-Small crew from Station Barnegat Light to aid in the search.
No other details were released as of 11 a.m. on Friday.
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