May 13, 2020 — Federal regulators are considering the East Coast’s harvest of bluefish to prevent overfishing.
Bluefish are popular gamefish that are also harvested commercially for food. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the catch of the oily fish would be reduced by 25%, to about 2.8 million pounds, under the current plan.
The recreational harvest would be cut by nearly 40% to a little less than 9.5 million pounds. The federal bluefish recreational daily bag limit would also be reduced.
Private recreational vessels will face a daily bag limit of three fish per person, and for-hire vessels, such as charter boats, will see a daily bag limit of five fish per person.
Fishermen seek bluefish from Maine to Florida, with North Carolina accounting for the largest share of the harvest in 2018. Commercial fishermen have typically caught between 3 million and 7 million pounds of the fish per year over the last decade.