2026-2027 Recreational Fishing Rules for Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass
AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.
This rule sets the 2026-2027 recreational fishing rules for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass in the Northeast. It keeps scup rules unchanged, lets states use their own equivalent rules for summer flounder and black sea bass, and liberalizes black sea bass federal coastwide measures by 20 percent because the normal process gave an unexpectedly tight result. The practical effect is that charter/party operators, recreational anglers, and state fisheries managers must follow the state-specific rules for landed fish in states approved under conservation equivalency, while federal waters keep the listed backup measures only where state rules do not apply.
AI-generated summary. May contain errors. Refer to official sources for legal decisions.
Key Changes
- Keeps scup recreational limits unchanged for 2026 and 2027: 10-inch minimum size, 40-fish possession limit, and year-round season.
- Approves conservation equivalency for summer flounder and black sea bass, so state landing rules replace the federal coastwide measures in approved states.
- Liberalizes black sea bass federal coastwide measures by 20 percent for 2026 and 2027 and restores two black sea bass Wave 1 text provisions plus one bluefish deadline correction.
Obligations
What this law requires
Federally permitted party/charter vessels and recreational vessels fishing in Federal waters for summer flounder or black sea bass must follow the recreational fishing measures implemented by the state in which they land, because Federal measures are waived under conservation equivalency for 2026-2027.
Federally permitted party/charter vessels and all recreational vessels fishing for summer flounder or black sea bass in Federal waters must follow the recreational fishing measures implemented by the state in which they land, because conservation equivalency is approved for 2026 and 2027.
Federally permitted party/charter vessels and recreational vessels fishing for summer flounder or black sea bass in Federal waters must follow the recreational fishing measures implemented by the state in which they land fish, because Federal measures are waived under conservation equivalency for 2026 and 2027.
States that did not submit a conservationally equivalent summer flounder or black sea bass proposal, or submitted measures that were not found equivalent, must implement the precautionary default measures adopted for 2026-2027.
States that implement summer flounder or black sea bass recreational measures must ensure their combined state or regional measures achieve conservation equivalency with the Federal coastwide measures approved for 2026 and 2027.