Black Sea Bass Fishery Closes October 5 in Federal Waters

[Hutch00]

The NJ DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife is advising recreational anglers that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will be closing the recreational black sea bass fishery in federal waters (3 - 200 miles offshore) effective Monday, October 5, 2009, for the next 180 days.

New Jersey State waters (0 - 3 miles offshore) are still open for the recreational harvest of black sea bass with a possession limit of 25 fish and a minimum size limit of 12.5 inches. Also, even though State waters remain open for the black sea bass, party and charter boat operators with a Federal black sea bass permit are prohibited from harvesting black sea bass from both State and Federal waters as of the effective closure date.

Please see the NMFS press release at www.nefsc.noaa.gov/press_release/2009/News/NR0913/index.html on the NMFS website for more information regarding this closure.

[#ff0000]AND AGAIN THEY HIT US AND NOT THE COMMERCIAL FISHING WHEN WILL THEY WAKE UP AND SEE THAT ITS NOT THE RECREATIONAL FISHERMEN OVERFISHING BUT THE COMMERCIAL FISHING INDUSTRY THAT IS RAPING THE RESOURCES JUST MY OPINION[/#ff0000]
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[Tarpon4me]

BSB is only a small portion of what's getting hit. Check out the south atlantic fisheries website and look what they are doing to snapper and grouper fishing. You can only keep 5 vermillion snapper, 5. That's nothing. And, they are closing the season during the best time to catch them. (Winter) Commercial fisherman, left unscaved.

But, it is what it is.
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[gdn443]

We get 4 to keep this year. DEP stopped me this sunday and thought I was Black fishing. Wanted to know how I made out. I was after blues and stripers and the blues would jump 10 ft from the boat and not take a sluggo or popper. Thank god he let us go as one of my guys didn't have the $30 salt water license for the day. Got skunked anyway.[:p] Grat day to be on the water though.
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