NEW YORK STATE SALT WATER REGS.

Saltwater Fishing Regulations - Recreational


These regulations are effective September 4, 2008.


Laws and regulations are frequently amended by the Legislature or DEC. You should check with the Bureau of Marine Resources to ensure that the fishing limits below are in effect. Our contact information is given in the column to the right. Links to the actual text of the marine finfish regulations (Part 40) are in the Related Links column to the right. The actual text for the lobster and crabs regulations (Part 44) are available there, too. A link to the print version of these regulations is also available in the column to the right.
Marine Recreational Fishing LimitsSpeciesSize Limits(Total Length in Inches)Daily Possession Limits(Number of Fish)Open Seasons

Summer flounder (fluke)	20.5	4	May 15 - Sept 1
Winter flounder	12	10	April 1 - May 30
Tautog (blackfish)	14	4	Oct 1 - Dec 20 Jan 17 - Apr 30
Bluefish (including "snappers")	No minimum size for first 10 fish 12 TL for the next 5	15 No more than 10 of which shall be less then 12" TL	All year
Weakfish	16 10 filleted 12 dressed	6	All year
Atlantic cod	22	No limit	All year
Pollock	19	No limit	All year
Haddock	19	No limit	All year
Striped bass; marine waters** Anglers aboard licensed party/charter boats	28	2***	Apr 15 - Dec 15
Striped bass; marine waters** All other anglers	28 - 40 >40	1 1	Apr 15 - Dec 15
Striped bass; north of George Washington Bridge	18	1	Mar 16 - Nov 30
Red drum	No minimum size	No limit for fish less then 27" TL. Fish greater than 27" shall not be possessed.	All year
Spanish mackerel	14	15	All year
King mackerel	23	3	All year
Cobia	37	2	All year
Atlantic sturgeon	Moratorium	Moratorium	Moratorium
Black Sea Bass	12	25	All year
Scup (Porgy) Anglers aboard licensed party/charter boats	11	10 45***	June 12 - Aug 31 Sept 1 - Oct 15***
Scup (Porgy) All other anglers	10.5	10	May 24 - Sept 26
American eel	6	50	All year
Monkfish (goose fish)	17 11 tail length	Any number	All year
American Shad	No size limit	1	All year
Hickory Shad	No size limit	5	All year
Yellowtail flounder	13	No limit	All year
Oyster toadfish	10	3	July 16 - May 14
Horseshoe crabs	No size limit	5	All year
Blue Crab+ Hard Shell Soft Shell Peeler/Shedder++	4 1/2" 3 1/2" 3"	50	All year
All Other Crabs+	No size limit	50	All year
American lobster+ LMA 6 (Long Island Sound, Rec. permit required)	3 5/16" carapace length	6	All year
American lobster+ LMA 4 (Atlantic Ocean, Rec. permit required)	3 3/8" carapace length	6	All year

** Marine waters -- South of George Washington Bridge
*** The customer of any party/charter boat who takes more than 10 scup from Sept 1 - Oct 15 or takes two striped bass from Apr 15 - Dec 15 must possess an original dated receipt from the licensed vessel.
+ Lobsters and crabs in spawn (eggs visible thereon) may not be taken or possessed.
++ Peeler or shedder crabs are hard blue crabs which have a fully formed soft shell beneath the hard outer shell and the impending shedding process is evidenced by the white sign along the outer rim of the paddle-like appendages on the crab's fifth pair of legs.
Recreational Fishing Regulations for SharksCategorySpeciesMinimum Size LimitDaily Possession Limit

Large and Small Coastal Sharks and Pelagic Sharks	Tiger, Blacktip, Bull, Great hammerhead, Lemon, Nurse, Scalloped hammerhead, Smooth hammerhead, Spinner, Blacknose, Bonnethead, Finetooth, Blue, Shortfin mako, Oceanic whitetip, Thresher, Poreagle	54 inches fork length*	One shark per vessel per trip
Large and Small Coastal Sharks and Pelagic Sharks (cont.)	Atlantic sharpnose, Bonnethead	No size limit	One Atlantic sharpnose per person per trip. One Bonnecthead per person per trip.
Prohibited Sharks	Atlantic angel, Galapagos, Basking, Longfin mako, Bigeye sand tiger, Narrowtooth, Bigeye Sixgill, Night, Bigeye thresher, Sand tiger, Bignose, Sevengill, Carribean reef, Sixgill, Carribean sharpnose, Smalltail, Dusky, Whale, White+, Silky and Sandbar.	No possession allowed	No possession allowed

* Fork length means the straightline measurement of a fish from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail. The measurement is not made along the curve of the body.
+ A person may fish for white sharks with rod and reel, provided the person releases such fish immediately with a minimum of injury and that such fish may not be removed from the water.
Other provisions
All landed sharks must have head, tails and fins attached.
No sale allowed.
No finning.
For further information about catching and landing sharks call National Marine Fisheries Service Fisheries Information Line at (978) 281-9278.

HERE IS NY FISHING REGS. THEY ARE STILL GOING BY 2008 RULES. AS SOON AS THEY PUT OUT 2009. I WILL PUT THEM UP.