You don't expect to see the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection allow something to be dumped into a sensitive waterway.

But that was exactly what happened Wednesday morning when the DEP along with U.S. Food and Drug Administration performed a unique project whose findings could lead to the reopening of some of the upper Delaware Bay's now-restricted oyster beds.

"The whole shellfish program is designed to protect the public health. That's really the ultimate goal. At the same time protecting the public health is very beneficial for the industry," said Bob Schuster, bureau chief of the DEP's Bureau of Marine Water Monitoring.

Approximately 10 to 15 gallons of highly-concentrated, environmentally-friendly dye were slowly released from a boat anchored two miles up from where Stow Creek empties into the Delaware Bay.

The hydrographic dye dilution study, as it's officially known, took place in the creek which forms the border of Salem and Cumberland counties about 25 miles south of the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

The runoff into Stow Creek carries fecal matter from birds and animals which inhabit the uplands and marshes. That level of bacteria caused some nearby oyster beds to be put off limits.

Officials believe the dye test will give them a truer picture of how water flows out of Stow Creek into the bay and over the oyster beds. The dye flow mimics the flow of pollutants in the creek into the bay.

This data, Schuster says, could allow the state to reopen more of the now-closed upper Delaware Bay oyster beds.

In those beds are marketable oysters along with "seed oysters," smaller shellfish that are harvested and transplanted lower in the bay where higher salinity levels promote larger growth.

"Having high quality product come from New Jersey is a good thing for the shellfish industry because if people get sick they won't want to eat shellfish," Schuster said.

Teams had been working on the chilly local waters -- hovering in the low to mid 40s -- since Monday getting ready for the release. It was planned and did take place exactly as the tide began to recede Wednesday so the dye would be carried downstream to the bay, giving a true picture of the water's path.

The dye, slowly fed out through a custom dispersion unit, appeared blood red as it was pumped through a clear hose into the water in the 300-foot wide section of the creek. As it began flowing downstream it created fuchsia ribbons of color in the morning sun.

But the entire stream or the bay didn't turn solid blood red. As the dye began dispersing, patches of the creek took on the look of fruit punch, as the water headed toward the bay.

Fluorometers which trace the flow of the dye were anchored along the creek, at its mouth and in the nearby bay. Meters were also towed through the creek.

The meters -- which can detect the dye when it is not visible to the naked eye -- will remain deployed until Friday recording how the dye disperses as the waters of Stow Creek meet the Delaware Bay.

The data, being collected by the FDA, will be analyzed and then be shared with the DEP to evaluate and decide whether to upgrade its classification of the water along the bay at the mouth of Stow Creek.

The dye is expected is dissipate in a couple of days.

According to Schuster, waters offshore of Stow Creek in the bay meet standards for harvests while the "inshore" waters near the creek's mouth currently don't, but that could change if there's good news from the dye test.

"We have very strict standards," Schuster said

New Jersey continues to work to help the struggling oyster industry.

In the late 1800s into the early 1900s, oyster harvesting was a thriving industry in the Delaware Bay. Records show that in 1901 some 2.7 million bushels of oysters were harvested and later shipped by rail as far as San Francisco.

But over-harvesting and disease ended the boom.

According to data from Rutgers, in 2017 124,444 bushes of oysters were harvested for direct market from the Delaware Bay.

A 2013 Aquaculture Census, the latest year figures were available, New Jersey's oyster harvest was worth nearly $8 million. Based on that census, the state ranked eighth in U.S. oyster production and third among Eastern states.

Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Bill Gallo Jr. on Twitter @bgallojr. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips