New Jersey’s official state motto may be “Liberty and Prosperity,” but it sure doesn’t feel that way! In Massachusetts – the so-called Puritan State – the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) recently announced that for-hire fishing operations will be able to take patrons recreationally fishing for black sea bass for an extended season this fall. This season, which was scheduled to end on September 9, has now been extended through October 9 for the for-hire fishery. The established bag limit of five fish and minimum size of 15 inches will apply.
According to DMF officials in Massachusetts, the seasonal extension is being offered to offset the delayed season start required of for-hire fishing businesses this spring due to COVID19 safety measures. The last day for anglers fishing from shore or private vessel to retain black sea bass will remain September 8. DMF was given approval by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to extend the recreational black sea bass season for anglers fishing aboard charter and head boats through a conservation equivalency proposal. As such, the 31 days added to the end of the for-hire season are projected to result in the same amount of harvest that likely would have occurred aboard for-hire vessels during the seven days that the fleet was prohibited from fishing for black sea bass this spring (May 18–May 24).
More days have been added to the end of the season than were closed in the beginning of the season because black sea bass catch rates are at their peak in spring when the fish are nearshore, aggregated, and aggressively feeding and interest in the fishery is at its highest. This seasonal adjustment applies only to the recreational for-hire fishery because DMF did not prohibit fishing from shore or private vessel this spring the same as it did from for-hire vessels. The recreational black sea bass season will revert to May 18–September 8 for all modes in 2021, unless subsequently changed by DMF.
No word from New Jersey state officials as to whether anglers or members of the recreational fishing industry would be feeling any “liberty” or “prosperity” in terms of sea bass or tautog after being mostly shut out of these fisheries at the start of the COVID-19 crisis. Perhaps the puritans in Trenton might consider swapping monikers and mottos with those freedom-loving libertarians from Boston?
