Are changes to our recreational season, size and bag limit for blackfish on the management horizon? We’ll know more when the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) holds their 2026 Spring Meeting from May 4 to 6 at the Westin Crystal City in Arlington, VA.
Last October, the ASMFC’s Tautog Management Board (Board) initiated an addendum to address changes in stock status for the New Jersey-New York Bight (NJ-NYB) and Delaware/Maryland/Virginia (DMV) regions. The Draft Addendum will also consider allowing the Massachusetts-Rhode Island (MARI) and Long Island Sound (LIS) regions to modify management for precautionary purposes.
According to the ASMFC, results of the 2025 regional stock assessments update show that tautog were not overfished nor experiencing overfishing in MARI and LIS; not overfished but experiencing overfishing in NJ-NYB; and overfished and experiencing overfishing in DMV. Stock status remained unchanged for the MARI and LIS regions from the 2021 update but did change for the NJ-NYB and DMV regions.
The NJ-NYB region went from being overfished but not experiencing overfishing in the 2021 update to not being overfished but experiencing overfishing in this update. The DMV region was previously not overfished nor experiencing overfishing but was considered overfished and experiencing overfishing in the 2025 update.
According to the ASMFC, total removals have increased in all regions, driven primarily by increases in recreational harvest. “If the current fishing mortality exceeds the regional threshold level (i.e., overfishing is occurring), Amendment 1 directs the Board to initiate management action, via a management document, within one year of receiving an overfishing determination, with new management measures implemented in the second year,” the ASMFC noted in a recent bulletin.
The Board is slated to meet on Monday, May 4, 2026 from 9 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. to review the ASMFC Technical Committee Report and harvest projections for reaching regional fishing mortality targets within 3 and 5 years. The meeting will be conducted in a hybrid format, allowing for both in-person and remote participation by commissioners and interested stakeholders; get login webinar details at ASMFC.org.
