New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 25 - DIVISION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE RULES › Subchapter 18 - MARINE FISHERIES › Section 7:25-18.1 - Size, season, and possession limits

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) For the purpose of this subchapter, the following common names shall mean the following scientific name(s) for a species or group of species, except as otherwise specified elsewhere in this subchapter.
Common Name
Scientific Name
American Eel
Anquilla rostrata
Atlantic Cod
Gadus morhua
Atlantic Croaker
Micropogon undulatus
Atlantic Mackerel
Scomber scombrus
Atlantic Menhaden
Brevoortia tyrannus
Black Drum
Pogonias cromis
Black Sea Bass
Centropristis striata
Blueline Tilefish
Caulolatilus microps
Bluefish
Pomatomus saltatrix
Cobia
Rachycentron canadum
Conch
Busycon carica
Busycotypus canaliculatum
Busycon contrarium
Dolphin
Coryphaena hippurus
Goosefish (Monkfish)
Lophius americanus
Haddock
Melanogrammus aeglefinus
Hybrid striped bass
Morone saxatilis x Morone spp.
Kingfish
Menticirrhus saxatilis
Menticirrhus americanus
King Mackerel
Scomberomorus cavalla
Pollock
Pollachius virens
Red Drum
Sciaenops ocellatus
River herring
Alosa aestivalis (alewife)
Alosa psuedoharengus (blueback herring)
Scup (Porgy)
Stenotomus chrysops
Shad
Alosa sapidissima (American shad)
Alosa mediocris (hickory shad)
Shark
Aggregated Large Coastal Group
Ginglymostoma cirratum (Nurse Shark
Carcharhinus limbatus (Blacktip Shark)
Carcharhinus leucas (Bull Shark)
Negaprion brevirostris (Lemon Shark)
Carcharhinus falciformis (Silky Shark)
Carcharhinus brevipinna (Spinner Shark)
Galeocerdo cuvieri (Tiger Shark)
Hammerhead Group
Sphyrna mokarran (Great Hammerhead)
Sphyrna lewini (Scalloped Hammerhead)
Sphyrna zyqaena (Smooth Hammerhead)
Non-Blacknose Small Coastal Group
Sphyrna tiburo (Bonnethead)
Carcharhinus isodon (Finetooth Shark)
Rhizoprionodon terraenovae (Atlantic
Sharpnose Shark)
Blacknose Group
Charcharhinus acronotus (Blacknose Shark)
Pelagic Group
Lamna nasus (Porbeagle Shark)
Isurus oxyrinchus (Shortfin Mako)
Prionace glauca (Blue Shark)
Carcharhinus longimanus (Oceanic Whitetip
Shark)
Alopias vulpinus (Thresher Shark)
Research Only Group
Carcharhinus plumbeus (Sandbar Shark)
Smoothhound Group
Mustelus canis (Smooth Dogfish)
Mustelus norrisi (Florida Smoothhound)
Spanish Mackerel
Scomberomorus maculatus
Spider crab
Libinia dubia
Libinia emarginata
Spiny Dogfish
Squalus acanthias
Striped Bass
Morone saxatilis
Summer Flounder
(Fluke)
Paralichthys dentatus
Tautog (Blackfish)
Tautoga onitis
Weakfish
Cynoscion regalis
Cynoscion nebulosus
Winter Flounder
Pleuronectes americanus
(b) A person shall not purchase, sell, offer for sale, expose for sale, barter, trade, or exchange for money or for any other thing of value, or attempt to purchase, sell, offer for sale, barter, trade, or exchange for money or for any other thing of value, any species listed below less than the minimum length, measured in inches, except as may be provided elsewhere in this subchapter, and subject to the specific provisions of any such section. Any commercially licensed or permitted vessel or person shall be presumed to possess the following species for sale purposes and shall comply with the minimum sizes below. Fish length shall be measured from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail (total length), except as noted below.
Species
Minimum Size (inches)
American Eel
9
Atlantic Cod
19
Atlantic Croaker
No Limit
Atlantic Mackerel
7
Atlantic Menhaden
No Limit
Black Drum
16
Black Sea Bass
11
Blueline Tilefish
No Limit
Bluefish
9
Cobia
37
Conch
5
Dolphin
No Limit
Goosefish (Monkfish)
17
Haddock
16
Kingfish
8
King Mackerel
23
Pollock
19
Red Drum
18
River herring
No Limit
(Alewife, blueback herring)
Scup (Porgy)
9
Shad
American
No Limit
Hickory
No Limit
Shark
As specified at (b)4 below
Aggregate Large Coastal Group
Hammerhead Group
Non-Blacknose Small Coastal Group
Blacknose Group
Pelagic Group
Smoothhound Group
Spanish Mackerel
14
Summer Flounder
14
Tautog (Blackfish)
15
Weakfish
13
Winter Flounder
12
1. Total length for black sea bass shall be measured along the midline from the tip of the snout to the end of the central portion of the tail, not to include tail filaments.
2. In addition to the total minimum goosefish size, all goosefish tails possessed must be at least 11 inches in length from the anterior portion of the fourth cephalic dorsal spine to the end of the caudal fin. The total weight of all goosefish livers landed shall not be more than 30 percent of the total weight of all goosefish tails landed or 12 percent of the total weight of all goosefish landed.
3. A person shall not take in any one day or possess more than the possession limit specified below for each species listed, except as may be provided elsewhere in this subchapter, and subject to the specific provisions of any such section.
Species
Possession Limit
Cobia
2 per person, no more than 6 per vessel
Red Drum
1, no more than 27 inches
4. A person commercially fishing for shark under a valid annual vessel permit for sharks issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service or a New Jersey commercial fishing license issued for a gear allowed in the commercial shark fishery shall not possess a shark from the shark groups listed at (b)1 above smaller than the minimum size limit determined by the National Marine Fisheries Service as published in the Federal Register.