ECOs (Environmental Conservation Officers) conducted several fish compliance checks in April focused on anglers taking striped bass:
- On April 9, ECO Pabes responded to a report of multiple anglers taking out-of-season striped bass from a construction zone at the Bayville Bridge in Bayville. The recreational striped bass season opens on April 15 in marine waters and the current striped bass slot size limit is 28-35 inches to be legal to harvest. Officer Pabes seized 15 striped bass and ticketed all anglers at the location with taking fish out of season and failure to obtain a marine fishing registry, returnable to Nassau County First District Court. Nassau County Police issued parking tickets to the driver as well.
- On April 19, ECO Pabes notified ECOs Kochanowski and DeRose, along with K9 Cramer, to respond and assist with a report of anglers keeping undersized striped bass and carrying them back to a parking area adjacent to Hempstead Harbor. By the end of the night, ECOs seized eight undersized striped bass and issued eight tickets including possessing over the limit of striped bass, possessing undersized striped bass, and failure to possess a valid marine fishing registry. K9 Cramer was instrumental in detecting fish hidden in cars.
- On April 22 and 23, Region 3 ECOs and K9 CJ saturated Orange and Rockland counties looking for recreational fishing violations. In total, Officers issued 26 tickets for various freshwater/marine fishing violations including illegal possession of fish, illegal taking of fish, fishing without a license/registry, and failure to use non-offset circle hooks for striped bass. ECO Wood and K9 CJ were instrumental in locating illegal striped bass hidden by subjects along the shoreline.
DEC will be updating 2023 recreational saltwater fishing regulations for striped bass in marine waters to a slot limit of 28-31 inches after Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) found that the probability of the stock being rebuilt by 2029 has significantly decreased. The emergency action requires implementation of a 31-inch maximum slot limit for current recreational fisheries, however, it does not change the size limit on the Hudson River (north of the George Washington Bridge) which will remain at 18-to-28 inches. Recreational striped bass regulations in New York will not change until passage of New York State emergency regulations. Once state regulations are put into effect, DEC will seek public comment on the proposed regulation. Anglers are encouraged to continue to check DEC’s webpage for the current limits in effect.
