Bluefish

Overview

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) work cooperatively to develop fishing regulations for bluefish off the east coast of the United States. The Council and ASMFC developed the first fishery management plan (FMP) for bluefish in 1990 after the fishery experienced a substantial increase in fishing effort. This cooperative management endeavor was developed because a significant portion of the catch is taken from both state waters (0-3 miles offshore) and federal waters (3-200 miles offshore). The Council and Commission work in conjunction with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) as the federal implementation and enforcement entity.

Bluefish are predominantly a recreational fishery, with recreational landings accounting for more than 80% of total landings by weight in recent years. The bluefish stock is currently managed under a rebuilding plan. Although the stock is no longer overfished, the rebuilding plan will remain in effect until the stock rebuilds to the target level of spawning stock biomass.

Staff Contact

Related Pages

Regulations

Additional information about the management and status of bluefish, including commercial and recreational fishing regulations, is available on the NOAA Fisheries Bluefish page. Federal regulations are also described in the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) section linked below.

Actions Under Development

The section below lists any FMP frameworks or amendments currently under development. See the current year's Implementation Plan for details on upcoming specifications and other actions that may affect this FMP.

Featured
Recreational Sector Separation and Data Collection Amendment

This amendment will consider options for managing for-hire recreational fisheries separately from other recreational fishing modes (referred to as sector separation), as well as options related to recreational data collection and reporting.

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Recreational Measures Setting Process Framework/Addenda

This joint MAFMC-ASMFC action will consider an improved process for setting recreational management measures for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish. This is a follow-on action to the Harvest Control Rule Framework/Addenda.

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Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment

This action will concurrently conduct the 5-year EFH review required under the Magnuson Stevens Act while amending fishery management plans for the Council, as needed.

Recreational Reform Initiative

This joint MAFMC/ASMFC initiative considers approaches for improving the recreational management system for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish.

Fishery Performance Reports and Information Documents

Fishery Performance Reports are developed every year by each fishery's advisory panel to provide the Council and SSC with a description of the factors that influenced fishing effort and catch within each of the Council’s fisheries. Fishery Information Documents are annual summaries of the most recent catch, landings, and effort data.

Fishery Management Plan and Amendments