Mid Atlantic Saltwater Fishing Facts

Fishing Boats

Saltwater fishing is one of the most popular outdoor activities in the Mid Atlantic region.

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

2015 North Carolina Coastal Fish Stock Status Report

Five North Carolina coastal fish species have been reclassified as viable by the 2015 Stock Status Report by the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.

The report also reclassified the status of three other species and removed one species from the report. Reclassifications are based on updated information through 2014.

The division annually classifies the status of important marine finfish, shellfish, shrimp and crabs as viable, recovering, concern, depleted or unknown. The classifications serve as a barometer of the overall health of the state’s fishery resources, and they are used to prioritize development of state fishery management plans.

Atlantic menhaden moved from concern to viable based on a Southeast Data, Assessment and Review 2015 benchmark stock assessment that indicates that Atlantic menhaden are neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing.

Black drum moved from unknown to viable based on a 2015 Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Black Drum Stock Assessment that determined that the stock is not overfished and not experiencing overfishing.

Kingfishes moved from unknown to viable based on positive trends in biological data, as a regional stock assessment is not currently available.

King mackerel moved from concern to viable based on the 2014 South Atlantic Fishery Management Council stock assessment that indicates the South Atlantic king mackerel stock is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring.

Spotted seatrout moved from depleted to viable based on a 2014 N.C. Spotted Seatrout Stock Assessment that indicates the North Carolina and Virginia stock is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring.

Black sea bass north of Hatteras moved from recovering to concern due to the lack of a recent approved stock assessment and recent low landings in North Carolina waters. The stock was declared rebuilt in 2009 based on the 2008 National Marine Fisheries Service’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center stock assessment for U.S. waters north of Cape Hatteras. Due to unique life history characteristics and other data concerns, the 2011 and 2012 assessments were not accepted for determining stock status.

Southern flounder was moved from depleted to concern due to the lack of a recent approved stock assessment. A 2014 stock assessment of southern flounder in North Carolina waters could not be used to determine stock status because the southern flounder stock mixes throughout the South Atlantic (North Carolina to Florida). However, concerns exist about the sustainability of current harvest levels because of a coast-wide decline in juvenile and adult abundance.

Gag moved from concern to recovering based on a 2014 South Atlantic Fishery Management Council regional stock assessment that found the stock from North Carolina to Florida was experiencing overfishing, but was not overfished. The National Marine Fisheries Service removed the stock from the overfishing list in December 2014 after determining that harvest levels in 2012 and 2013 indicated overfishing was no longer occurring.

Monkfish was removed from the N.C. Stock Status Report due to the limited fishery in North Carolina. In 2014, commercial landings of monkfish were low and there were no reported recreational landings.

Definitions for each stock status category can be found at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/stock-status-categories-and-definitions.

The complete 2015 Stock Status Report can be found on the division’s website at: http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/stock-status-reports.

source: North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries

Atlantic Croaker

Atlantic Croaker

Atlantic Croaker or "hardhead" are popular saltwater fish common along the mid-Atlantic region and Gulf Coast of the USA. They are known to have wild population fluctuations.

The fish get their names because of the "croaking" noise the make when removed from the water. Croakers are hard fighters and prolific feeders. They are caught on a variety of baits and lures.

Croaker are a popular fish due to their hardy nature, accessibility and prolific numbers. They are among the first fish to be caught in the spring and are caught over a wide range of habitats. Croaker can be caught from piers, jetties, inlets, in bays, and from the surf.

Croaker baits include shrimp, crabs, squid, clam, bloodworms, or other cut baits. Anglers also have excellent success using artificial bait products. In addition to cut baits, croaker are caught on a variety of jigs and other saltwater lures. They can also be caught in in the shallows and grass beds using fly fishing gear.