Bluefish in New York coastal waters saw a dramatic decline this year. The state Department of Environmental Conservation is planning significant cuts to the commercial limit on the fish next year.
Bluefish are found along the East Coast, but coastal assessment shows an all-time low in the recreational harvest in 2018 – 13.4 million pounds of bluefish in 2018 compared to approximately 50 million in 2010.
Fisherman at a public DEC meeting say bluefish may be migrating to colder temperatures in the north or they are going deeper offshore.
The DEC plans to limit commercially harvesting bluefish by 64% in 2020.
They also plan on submitting a limit on recreational fishing of bluefish.