Limit goes up on Jan. 1, 2025
North Carolina’s saltwater anglers are finally getting some good news. The recreational limit on bluefish is increasing beginning on Jan. 1, 2026. The limit will now be five fish per person, per day for private anglers, and seven per person, per day when fishing aboard a for-hire boat. These include charter boats, head boats and guide boats.
The increase in the limit is due to a recent coastwide stock assessment, which determined bluefish are not overfished, and that overfishing is not occurring for the species.
According to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council/Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Bluefish Fishery Management Plan, the bluefish stock has not yet fully recovered, but it is trending in that direction enough to loosen the regulations a bit.
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