There’s more bluefish in the sea! As a result, the bag limit for recreationally caught bluefish will increase on Jan. 1 in North Carolina Coastal Fishing Waters and Joint Fishing Waters.

Private Limit (fishing from shore, pier, private vessel, etc.) will increase to five fish per-person per-day.

For-Hire Limit (charter boats, head boats, guide boats) will increase to seven fish per-person per-day.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries implemented the change through Proclamation FF-1-2026 in compliance with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council/Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Bluefish Fishery Management Plan.

A 2025 coastwide stock assessment for bluefish determined that overfishing is not occurring and the stock is not overfished. Although the stock has not yet fully rebuilt, it continues to get closer to the federal stock assessment target. The coastwide recreational harvest limit and commercial bluefish quota in 2026 and 2027 are higher based on the stock assessment results. The bag limit increase is a result of the higher recreational harvest limit.

For additional information, see the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting summary.

For questions, contact Chris Batsavage at 252-241-2995 or Chris.Batsavage@deq.nc.gov.