2020 New Bluefish Regulations ?

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Last week, fishery managers approved new regulations for the 2020 recreational bluefish fishery. These measures, which include a 3-fish bag limit for private anglers and a 5-fish bag limit for for-hire fishermen, represent a substantial reduction compared to the federal 15-fish bag limit that has been in place since 2000.

The most recent assessment of the Atlantic bluefish stock concluded that the stock is overfished. In October, managers called for an 18% decrease compared to 2019 and considered several combinations of bag limits and minimum size limits. Although the Bluefish Monitoring Committee recommended a coastwide 3-fish bag limit, the majority of comments from the public and Bluefish Advisory Panel (AP) members expressed opposition to this option, noting that it would have severe economic consequences for the for-hire sector, which was only responsible for 3.6% of coastwide landings from 2016 to 2018. Additionally, AP members and the public emphasized that these proposed reductions come at a challenging time for for-hire stakeholders as they are also facing new restrictions on striped bass, black sea bass, summer flounder, and scup. Source: On the Water