Bluefish Quota & Landings Data
Updated September 14, 2021
The 2021 bluefish quota allocation for New York State is 287,667* pounds as determined by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and regulations promulgated by NOAA Fisheries. The Bluefish Quota Distribution Plan is distributed into five quota periods with the following harvest limits:
| Period | Dates | Period Quota (lbs) |
Trip Limit (lbs) |
% Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January - April **March 15 - April 30 |
*58,150 | 1,000 *2,500 daily/5000 weekly |
15% |
| 2 | May - June | *116,300 | 500 | 30% |
| 3 | July - August | *116,300 | 500 | 30% |
| 4 | September - October | *73,657 | 500 | 19% |
| 5 | November - December | *23,260 | 1,000 | 6% |
* NY received 100,000 pounds of transfers from Virginia and New Jersey. The new allocation is 387,667 pounds.
**Upon determination that remaining period quota is available
Check Commercial Harvest Limits for the current trip limit and fishery status information.
The Bluefish Quota Distribution Plan may be modified by NYSDEC subject to the following criteria:
- Trip limits may be adjusted to spread allocation over each period and avoid fishery closures when possible.
- Overharvest or underharvest from Period 1 will be equally distributed to Periods 2, 3, and 4.
- Overharvest or underharvest from Periods 2 through 4 will be deducted from or rolled over into the next period.
- Underharvest from Period 5 will not be rolled over into the next year in accordance with the terms of the interstate Fishery Management Plan for Bluefish.
- A maximum episodic event trip limit may be established during Periods 1 and 5, upon determination by the Department that sufficient quota is available.
- If a period's quota is projected to be exceeded, actions may be taken, up to and including closure of the remaining period until the next period, to preserve quota for subsequent periods. That period will be closed until the next period in order to preserve quota for subsequent periods.
- Quota allocations will be adjusted to ensure maximum utilization of the bluefish resource or prevent New York State's allocation from being exceeded.
- The final quota allocation is subject to adjustment by NOAA Fisheries.
Bluefish Weekly Landings Summary
| Period | Week | Dates | Trip Limit | Recent Landings |
Cumulative Landings |
% Period Quota Used |
Remaining Period Quota |
Total Remaining Quota |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1-8 | 1/1-2/20 | 1000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58,150 | 387,667 |
| 1 | 9 | 2/21-2/27 | 1000 | 65 | 65 | 0 | 58,085 | 387,602 |
| 1 | 10 | 2/28-3/6 | 1000 | 2 | 67 | 0 | 58,083 | 387,600 |
| 1 | 11-16 | 3/7-4/17 | 1000 | 0 | 67 | 0 | 58,016 | 287,600 |
| 1 | 17 | 4/18-4/24 | 1000 | 7 | 74 | 0 | 58,009 | 387,593 |
| 1 | 18 | 4/25-5/1 | 1000 | 21 | 95 | 0 | 57,998 | 387,572 |
| 2 | 19 | 5/2-5/8 | 500 | 7,154 | 7,249 | 5 | 123,777 | 380,418 |
| 2 | 20 | 5/9-5/15 | 500 | 38,529 | 45,778 | 35 | 85,248 | 341,889 |
| 2 | 21 | 5/16-5/22 | 500 | 48,826 | 94,604 | 72 | 36,422 | 293,063 |
| 2 | 22 | 5/23-5/29 | 500 | 46,918 | 141,522 | 108 | (10,496) | 246,145 |
| 2 | 23 | 5/30-6/5 | 100 | 24,629 | 166,151 | 127 | (35,125) | 221,516 |
| 2 | 24 | 6/6-6/12 | 100 | 15,684 | 181,835 | 139 | (50,809) | 205,832 |
| 2 | 25 | 6/13-6/19 | 100 | 20,410 | 202,245 | 154 | (71,219) | 185,422 |
| 2 | 26 | 6/20-6/26 | 100 | 19,879 | 222,124 | 170 | (91,908) | 165,543 |
| 2 | 27 | 6/27-7/3 | 100 | 10,684 | 232,808 | 178 | (101,782) | 154,859 |
| 3 | 28 | 7/4-7/10 | 100 | 8,427 | 241,235 | 29 | 20,722 | 146,432 |
| 3 | 29 | 7/11-7/17 | 100 | 6,657 | 247,802 | 51 | 14,155 | 139,865 |
| 3 | 30 | 7/18-7/24 | 100 | 4,888 | 252,690 | 68 | 9,267 | 8134,977 |
| 3 | 31 | 7/25-7/31 | 100 | 4,931 | 257,621 | 85 | 4,336 | 130,046 |
| 3 | 32 | 8/1-8/7 | 100 | 2,445 | 260,066 | 94 | 1,891 | 127,601 |
| 3 | 33 | 8/8-8/14 | 100 | 3,899 | 263,965 | 107 | (2,008) | 123,702 |
| 3 | 34 | 8/15-8/21 | 100 | 4,193 | 268,158 | 121 | (6,201) | 119,509 |
| 3 | 35 | 8/22-8/28 | 100 | 3,698 | 271,856 | 134 | (9,899) | 115,811 |
| 3 | 36 | 8/29-9/4 | 100 | 2,587 | 274,443 | 143 | (12,486) | 113,224 |
| 4 | 37 | 9/5-9/11 | 100 | 4,669 | 279,112 | 6 | 71,133 | 108,555 |
Keep track of weekly commercial landings by visiting NOAA Fisheries Quota Monitoring (link leaves DEC website).
