Commercial Harvest Limits
Quota Managed Species
The table below provides a summary of trip limits for quota managed commercial fisheries in New York. Laws and regulations may be frequently amended by the state legislature, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC), and DEC. Contact Commercial Quota Management at commercial.fisheries@dec.ny.gov or 631-444-0714 to confirm current fishing limits are in effect.
Review the complete 2023 Quota Distribution Plans (PDF) for all New York State quota managed species.
Updated May 22, 2023
| Species | Fishery Status | Trip Limit | Minimum Length | Effective Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer Flounder | Open | 210 lbs. daily | 14" total length* | 05/01/23 |
| Fixed Gear: Open | 210 lbs. daily | 05/01/23 | ||
| Weekly Program: Closed |
- | 05/01/23 | ||
| Scup | Open | 600 lbs. daily |
9" total length* | 05/01/23 |
| Weekly Program: Open |
4,000 lbs. weekly | 05/01/23 | ||
| Black Sea Bass | Open | 130 lbs. daily | 11" total length* | 01/01/23 |
| Weekly Program: Closed |
- |
04/15/23 | ||
| Striped Bass | Open | by tag allocation | Not less than 26″ TL nor greater than 38″ TL |
05/15/23 |
| Bluefish | Open | 500 lbs. daily | 9" total length* | 05/01/23 |
| Spiny Dogfish | Open | 7,500 lbs. daily | - | 03/08/23 |
| Weekly Program: Open | 40,000 lbs. weekly | - | 03/08/23 | |
| Horseshoe crab | Open (Closes 06/01-06/05) |
200 crabs daily | - | 05/22/23 |
| Longfin Squid | Open | No limit | - | 09/01/22 |
| Menhaden | Directed Fishery: Open** | 20,000 lbs. daily | - | 01/01/23 |
| Weekly Program: Closed | - | - | 11/25/21 |
*Total length is the longest straight line measurement from the tip of the snout, with the mouth closed, to the longest lobe on the caudal fin (tail), with the lobes squeezed together, laid flat on the measuring device, except that black sea bass are measured from the tip of the snout or jaw (mouth closed) to the farthest extremity of the tail, not including the tail filament.
**In accordance with Amendment 3 of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) fishery management plan for menhaden, permit holders may continue to land menhaden, up to 6,000 pounds per day, using small-scale gears and non-directed gear types after the directed fishery has closed. Non-directed gears include pound nets, gill net, trawls, fishing weirs, fyke nets, and floating fish traps. Small-scale gears include cast nets, traps (excluding floating fish traps), pots, haul seines, fyke nets, hook and line, bag nets, hoop nets, hand lines, trammel nets, and bait nets. No vessel may land menhaden more than once in a single calendar day. If you have questions about the small-scale and incidental fishery, please contact the Commercial Fisheries Quota Management Unit at 631-444-0714.
All Other Species
The table below provides a summary of limits for all species not managed under a commercial quota. The official regulations published by the Department of State are the official source for NYSDEC regulations: Marine fish (6 NYCRR Part 40) or Lobster and Crabs (6 NYCRR Part 44).
Visit the commercial limits for lobsters, crabs & whelk for information on lobsters, crabs, horseshoe crabs, and whelk.
| Species | Open Season | Minimum Length | Trip Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| American eel | All year | 9″ TL | No Limit |
| American shad | Possession Prohibited | Possession Prohibited | Possession Prohibited |
| Anadromous river herring (alewife and blueback herring) as defined in Part 10 of this Title (except the Hudson River and its tributaries and embayments north of the George Washington Bridge at river mile 11) | Possession Prohibited | Possession Prohibited | Possession Prohibited Except that vessels fishing exclusively in the Federal ocean waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) while operating under a valid Federal permit for Atlantic mackerel and/or Atlantic herring, may possess river herring up to a maximum of five percent, by weight, of all species possessed. A person shall not barter, sell, offer for sale, or expose for sale, any river herring so possessed. |
| Atlantic cod | All year | 19″ TL | 50 pounds Any amount of Atlantic cod legally harvested from waters outside the state may be possessed on board vessels transiting state waters and may be landed in New York at any time. Persons on such vessels may not fish for Atlantic cod in state waters while utilizing this transit provision. |
| Atlantic sturgeon | Possession Prohibited | Possession Prohibited | Possession Prohibited |
| Black sea bass | See Quota Managed Species | 11″ TL | See Quota Managed Species. A trip limit set by DEC to be consistent with the requirements of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for black sea bass. DEC may authorize up to two commercial license holders per vessel to possess the black sea bass trip limit on any one calendar day. |
| Bluefish | See Quota Managed Species | 9" TL | See Quota Managed Species. A trip limit set by DEC to be consistent with the requirements of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for bluefish. |
| Cobia | All year | 37″ TL | 2 per vessel |
| Haddock | All year | 19″ TL | No Limit |
| King mackerel | All year | 23″ TL | 3,500 pounds per vessel |
| Monkfish (goosefish) | All year | 17″ TL 11″ tail length+ |
No more than 25% of the total weight of monkfish landed per trip may be monkfish livers |
| Oyster toadfish | January 1 - May 14 & July 16 - December 31 | 10" TL | 25 |
| Pollock | All year | 19″ TL | No Limit |
| Red drum | All year | None | No limit for fish less than 27″ TL. Fish greater than 27″ TL shall not be possessed. |
| Scup | See Quota Managed Species | 9″ TL | See Quota Managed Species. A trip limit set by DEC to be consistent with the requirements of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for scup. DEC may establish a weekly limit or a biweekly limit authorizing holders of New York State commercial food fish licenses to possess and land up to a specified maximum quantity of scup in a seven-day (weekly limit) or fourteen-day (biweekly limit) period. |
| Spanish mackerel | All year | 14″ TL | 3,500 pounds per vessel |
| Striped bass (the area east of a line drawn due north from the mouth of Wading River Creek and east of a line at 73 degrees 46 minutes west longitude, which is near the terminus of East Rockaway Inlet) | May 15 -December 15 | Not less than 26″ TL nor greater than 38″ TL |
See Quota Managed Species. Harvest by Tag Allocation |
| Summer flounder | See Quota Managed Species | 14″ TL | See Quota Managed Species. A trip limit set by DEC to be consistent with the requirements of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for summer flounder. DEC may establish a weekly limit authorizing holders of commercial summer flounder permits to possess and land up to a specified amount of summer flounder in a seven- day period. |
| Tautog (Long Island Sound Management Region: includes all marine and coastal district waters lying east of the Throgs Neck Bridge and west of a line that runs from Orient Point, NY to Watch Hill, RI) | May 7 - July 31 & September 1 - November 23 |
15″ TL | 25 per vessel (Except 10 per vessel when fishing lobster pot gear and more than six lobsters are in possession) See Tautog Tagging Program for more information. |
| Tautog (NY Bight Management Region: includes all marine and coastal waters lying outside of the Long Island Sound Management Region) | April 16 - January 25 | 15″ TL | 25 per vessel (Except 10 per vessel when fishing lobster pot gear and more than six lobsters are in possession) See Tautog Tagging Program for more information. |
| Weakfish |
Hook & Line: April 1 - June 24 & August 28 - November 15 |
16″ TL | 100 pounds |
| All other gear: April 1 - June 24 & August 28 - November 15 |
16″ TL | 100 pounds June 25 - August 27 & November 16 - March 31: No more than 100 pounds, per vessel, in the round***, and if at least an equal poundage of other food fish species caught during the same trip is on board the vessel |
|
| Winter flounder |
Pound & Trap nets: July 26 - June 14 Fyke nets: October 1 - March 22 All other gear: |
12" | 50 pounds |
| Yellowtail flounder | All year | None | No Limit |