This month’s edition of The Fisherman Magazine has gone to print late Sunday night, March 22, 2026, yet the fate of the black sea bass season, size and bag will not be memorialized until Thursday night, March 26th at 5 p.m. That’s when the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council will meet at the Stafford Township Firehouse at 133 Stafford Avenue in Manahawkin.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board met on March 5, 2026 to review management options presented by each state to liberalize sea bass regulations in 2026, and while states like Massachusetts and New York were awarded the greatest liberalization – upwards of 30 to 40% when all was said and done – New Jersey’s approved options to final vote on March 26th are thought to be from 16% to 20%.
While options may vary, or get tweaked before the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council meets, the following four concepts were being disseminated as possible changes in the New Jersey black sea bass fishery starting this spring.
Option 6 (231 days of fishing)
10 fish May 15 – June 21
1 fish June 22 – September 22
10 fish September 23 – October 31
15 fish November 1 – December 31
Option 8 (204 days of fishing)
10 fish May 17 – June 30
1 fish July 1 – August 31
10 fish September 26 – October 31
15 fish November 1 – December 31
Option 10 (206 days of fishing)
10 fish May 15 – June 21
2 fish July 1 – September 14
10 fish October 1 – October 31
15 fish November 1 – December 31
Option 11 (205 days of fishing)
10 fish May 15 – June 21
2 fish June 22 – September 4
10 fish October 1 – October 31
15 fish November 1 – December 31
If you have an opinion on black sea bass measures, be sure to attend the March 26th meeting of the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council in Manahawkin, as it’s an open public meeting with public comment being taken prior to the final vote. Summer flounder regulations in New Jersey will remain unchanged. For details call 609-292-7794.
