The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) met August 11-14, 2025, in Annapolis, MD and took official action alongside the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (Commission) Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board (Board) related to the 2026 regulatory measures for summer flounder, porgy, black sea bass, and bluefish.
On the fluke front, the 2025 management track assessment found that summer flounder was not overfished, and overfishing was no longer occurring in 2024, with spawning stock biomass estimated to be about 83% of the biomass target. After reviewing Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) recommendations the Council and Board selected an Annual Biological Catch (ABC) approach which results in a 55% increase compared to the 2025 ABC.
Under the allocations specified in the fishery management plan, 55% of the ABC is allocated to the commercial sector and 45% is allocated to the recreational sector. After applying a 12% management uncertainty buffer for both sectors and accounting for each sector’s expected dead discards, the Council and Board adopted a commercial quota of 12.78 million pounds and a recreational harvest limit (RHL) of 8.79 million pounds for 2026 and 2027.
The 2025 management track assessment also found that porgy was not overfished, and overfishing was not occurring in 2024. Spawning stock biomass was estimated to be about 3.23 times the biomass target. For 2026, the Council and Board approved an ABC of 42.09 million pounds, a 2% increase compared to the 2025 ABC. For 2027, they approved an ABC of 37.01 million pounds.
Under the allocations specified in the fishery management plan, 65% of the ABC is allocated to the commercial sector and 35% is allocated to the recreational sector. No deductions were made in either sector to account for management uncertainty. After accounting for each sector’s expected dead discards, the 2026 ABC results in a commercial quota of 17.70 million pounds and an RHL of 13.17 million pounds. The 2027 ABC results in a commercial quota of 15.57 million pounds and an RHL of 11.58 million pounds.
The 2025 management track assessment found that black sea bass was not overfished, and overfishing was not occurring in 2024. Spawning stock biomass was estimated to be about 2.84 times the biomass target. The Council and Board approved an ABC of 21.34 million pounds for both 2026 and 2027, a 28% increase compared to the 2024-2025 ABC. Under the allocations specified in the fishery management plan, 45% of the ABC is allocated to the commercial sector and 55% is allocated to the recreational sector. No deductions were made in either sector to account for management uncertainty.
After accounting for each sector’s expected dead discards, the resulting commercial quota for 2026 and 2027 is 7.83 million pounds (a 31% increase compared to 2024-2025), and the resulting RHL for 2026 and 2027 is 8.14 million pounds (a 30% increase).
The 2025 management track assessment for bluefish concluded that overfishing was not occurring in 2024, and while the stock was not overfished, it has not yet fully rebuilt to the biomass target. Spawning stock biomass was estimated to be about 89% of the biomass target and is projected to be rebuilt in 2025.
Based on the SSC’s recommendation, the Council and Bluefish Board approved an ABC of 44.61 million pounds for 2026 and 45.41 million pounds for 2027. Under the allocations specified in the fishery management plan, 86% of the ABC is allocated to the recreational sector and 14% to the commercial sector. After considerable debate, the Council and Bluefish Board adopted management uncertainty buffers of 25% for the commercial sector and 30% for the recreational sector. Council and Board members also noted that the upcoming changes to the MRIP estimates are a significant source of uncertainty.
After applying the buffers and accounting for expected discards, the Council and Board adopted a commercial bluefish quota of 4.66 million pounds and an RHL of 22.02 million pounds for 2026, and a commercial quota of 4.75 million pounds and an RHL of 22.50 million pounds for 2027. Compared to 2025, these values represent increases of approximately 50% for the commercial quota and 40% for the RHL.
Recreational measures for bluefish were also modified for 2026 and 2027, with the private recreational bag limit increasing from three to five fish and the for-hire bag limit increasing from five to seven fish.
Recreational bag, size, and season limits for upcoming years will be discussed during the December 2025 Council and Board meeting. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council also elected New Jersey’s Joe Cimino as new Council chairman, and Virginia’s Skip Feller as Council vice chair. For more information go to mafmc.org.
