A striped bass caught by a customer on Capt. Jack Shea’s Rambunctious on Barnegat Bay. (Photo: Capt. Jack Shea)
Regulations for striped bass fishing have changed as a bonus quota program ended May 1, state officials said this week.
Anglers may now take one fish between 28 inches to less than 43 inches and one fish 43 inches or greater. The changes come after the Striped Bass Bonus Program closed on May 1 and will remain closed until Sept. 1. When it reopens on September 1, the SBBP regulations will be one fish 24 inches to less than 28 inches.
Delaware River and Bay and their tributaries remain closed to striped bass fishing from the upstream side of the Calhoun Street Bridge in Trenton downstream to, and including, the Salem River and its tributaries, until May 31.
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The striped bass regulatory changes are the result of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Striped Bass Management Board’s requirement implementing a 25 percent harvest reduction from 2013 levels for 2015 recreational and commercial fisheries. After three public hearings and meetings with New Jersey’s Striped Bass Advisory Committee and Marine Fisheries Council, the council considered all input and decided on the updated regulations for this year.
