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This article includes a few facts about recreational saltwater fishing in the Mid Atlantic including popular species, statistics, regulations, and other information.
Mid Atlantic Facts - Statistics
According to Fisheries Economics of the United States (FEUS) 2016:
The Mid-Atlantic Region includes Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia. In 2016, there were 2.4 million recreational anglers who fished in the Mid-Atlantic Region, with14 million fishing trips taken.
In the report, recreational fishing refers to fishing for fun rather than to resell fish (commercial fishing) or for subsistence.
Key Mid-Atlantic Region Recreational Species:
• Atlantic croaker
• Black sea bass
• Bluefish
• Scup
• Spot
• Striped bass
• Summer flounder
• Tautog
• Weakfish drum
• Winter flounder
Top Mid Atlantic Catches:
summer flounder (12.2 million fish)
black sea bass (9.3 million fish)
and striped bass (8.6 million fish)
Top Catches by State:
Virginia caught the most Atlantic croaker and spot (5.6 million fish)
New Jersey caught the most summer flounder (6.9 million fish)
Maryland anglers caught the most striped bass (5.1 million fish)
Recreational Fishing Regulations
In the Mid Atlantic region, recreational fishing regulations are set by a combination of federal and state entities.
Federal Fisheries Management
Federal fisheries are generally defined as fishing activities that take place in the U.S.Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ, between 3 and 200 nautical miles from the coastline). Generally, individual states retain management authority over fishing activities within three nautical miles of their coasts.
The authority to manage federal fisheries in the United States was granted to the Secretary of Commerce by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA).
NOAA Fisheries is the federal agency with delegated authority from the Secretary of Commerce to oversee fishing activities in federal waters.
The MSA has been reauthorized twice since its enactment, in 1996 and again in 2006.
The 2006 MSA reauthorization included a requirement to use annual catch limits (ACLs) to end and prevent overfishing.To limit ACL overages, regional fishing councils implement management measures as necessary.
In 2018, the MSA was amended by the Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act, which focused on improvements to recreational fishing data and management of mixed-use fisheries.
Fishery management plans (FMPs) provide a framework for managing the harvest of fish stocks and stock complexes. FMPs are developed by Regional Fishery Management Councils (FMCs).
Federal fisheries in the Mid Atlantic region are managed by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) and NOAA Fisheries under seven fishery management plans (FMPs).
Two of these FMPs are developed in conjunction with the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC). The MAFMC is the lead council for the Spiny Dogfish FMP; the NEFMC is the lead for the Monkfish FMP.
In addition, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) (www.asmfc.org) serves as a deliberative body of the Atlantic coastal states, coordinating the conservation and management of 27 nearshore fish species.
Highly migratory species such as tunas, mackerels, sharks, and billfish are managed by NOAA Fisheries. Several HMS species are subject to cooperative management by NOAA and international fishing organizations.
Recent Federal Actions Impacting the Mid Atlantic
In the fall of 2019, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board approved Addendum VI to Amendment 6 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass.
The Addendum reduces all state commercial quotas by 18%, and implements a 1 fish bag limit and a 28”-35” recreational slot limit for ocean fisheries and a 1 fish bag limit and an 18” minimum size limit for Chesapeake Bay recreational fisheries. States may submit alternative regulations through conservation equivalency to achieve an 18% reduction in total removals relative to 2017 levels.
Addendum VI was initiated in response to the 2018 Benchmark Stock Assessment, which indicates the resource is overfished and experiencing overfishing. The Addendum’s measures are designed to reduce harvest, end overfishing, and bring fishing mortality to the target level in 2020.
Since catch and release practices contribute significantly to overall fishing mortality, the Addendum requires the mandatory use of circle hooks when fishing with bait to reduce release mortality in recreational striped bass fisheries.
Mid Atlantic Region State Agencies:
New York DEC (www.dec.ny.gov)
New Jersey Fish and Wildlife (www.njfishandwildlife.com)
Maryland Department of Natural Resources (www.dnr.state.md.us)
Delaware DNREC (www.dnrec.delaware.gov)
Virginia Marine Resources Commission (www.mrc.state.va.us)
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (www.ncwildlife.org)
Related Information
2016 NOAA USA Recreational Fishing Statistics (saltwater)
RBFF 2017 Special Report on Fishing
Mid Atlantic Striped Bass EEZ Enforcement
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