Editor's note: In a nutshell, the below announcement and the Final Rule that it refers to seem to indicate that New Jersey's bluefish bag limit will remain the same in the near future. The Final Rule states that the federal government is allowing states to impose a bluefish bag limit of up to 15 blues per person. Jersey's current limit is 10 blues, so it would seem likely that the state would keep that limit this year.

From the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service:

NOAA Fisheries has set management measures for the 2007 Atlantic bluefish fishery, including state-by-state commercial quotas, a recreational harvest limit, and recreational possession limits. The intent of these measures is to establish the allowable 2007 harvest levels and possession limits to attain the target fishing mortality rate, consistent with the stock rebuilding program for Atlantic bluefish. Although the Mid-Atlantic Council's recommendation was based on the best information available at the time, more recent information has been used to develop a new landings projection for the 2007 fishing year.

Based on data provided by the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistic Survey (MRFSS) program, estimated recreational landings in 2006 were 18,823,384 lb. Using this amount as a proxy for expected landings in 2007, NOAA has determined that the proposed transfer would exceed the amount allowable under the regulations. Therefore, this final rule reduces the amount of the transfer from the recreational to the commercial sector by 810,780 lb, to account for the increase in projected recreational landings. After adjusting for the research set aside quota, the final 2007 specifications include a commercial quota of 8,574,939 lb and a recreational harvest limit of 18,823,384 lb. This final rule is effective March 2 through December 31, 2007.

For more information, contact Allison.McHale@noaa.gov.

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