Marine Fisheries Minimum Sizes & Possession Limits
|
SPECIES |
MINIMUM SIZE |
SEASON |
CURRENT |
|||
| American Eel |
9″ |
Closed 9/1 – 12/31 |
No limit |
|||
| American Plaice (dab) |
12″ |
1/1 – 12/31 |
No limit |
|||
| American Shad |
NA |
1/1 – 12/31 |
Prohibited in state waters |
|||
| Atlantic Salmon |
NA |
1/1 – 12/31 |
Prohibited in state waters |
|||
| Atlantic Sturgeon |
NA |
1/1 – 12/31 |
Prohibited in state waters |
|||
| Black Sea Bass
|
11″ |
Sub-Periods |
500 lbs/vsl/wk |
|||
| Bluefish |
12″ |
1/1 – 4/30 |
1,000 lbs/vsl/bi-wk |
|||
| Cod |
19″ |
5/1 – 4/30 |
1,000 lbs/vsl/day |
|||
| Coastal Sharks- Smoothhound |
No minimum |
1/1 – 12/31 |
Unlimited |
|||
| Coastal Sharks- Non-Blacknose Small Coastal Sharks |
No Minimum |
1/1 – 12/31 |
Unlimited |
|||
| Coastal Sharks- Blacknose |
No minimum |
1/1 – 12/31 |
Closed |
|||
| Coastal Sharks- Aggregated Large Coastal Sharks |
No minimum |
1/1 – 12/31 |
55 sharks/vsl/day |
|||
| Coastal Sharks- Hammerhead |
No minimum |
1/1 – 12/31 |
55 sharks/vsl/day |
|||
| Coastal Sharks- Shortfin Mako |
No minimum |
1/1 – 12/31 |
Closed |
|||
| Coastal Sharks- Pelagic |
No minimum |
1/1 – 12/31 |
Unlimited |
|||
| Spiny Dogfish |
No Minimum |
5/1 – 4/30 |
6,000 lbs/vsl/day |
|||
| Summer Flounder (Fluke) |
With Exemption Certificate 14″ |
Sub-Periods |
100 lbs/vsl/day Aggregate Permitted Vessels January 9 |
|||
|
Without Exemption Certificate 14″ |
Sub-Periods |
100 lbs/vsl/day |
||||
| Horseshoe Crab Bait Fishery |
7″ |
1/1 – 4/30 |
60 crabs/vsl/day |
|||
| Horseshoe Crab Biomedical Fishery |
7″ |
1/1 – 12/31 |
Closed |
|||
| Menhaden inside Management Area |
No Minimum |
1/1 – 12/31 |
Closed |
|||
| Menhaden outside Management Area |
No Minimum |
1/1 – 12/31 |
120,000 lbs/vsl/day |
|||
| Monkfish |
17″ whole/ |
5/1 – 4/30 |
700 lbs/vsl/day tails or |
|||
| Haddock |
16″ |
1/1 – 12/31 |
No limit |
|||
| Pollock |
19″ |
1/1 – 12-31 |
No limit |
|||
| Scup |
General Category |
Sub-Periods |
50,000 lbs/vsl/day |
|||
|
Floating traps |
Sub-Periods |
50,000 lbs/vsl/day |
||||
| Striped bass |
General Category |
Sub-Periods |
Closed |
|||
|
Floating traps |
4/1 – 12/31 |
Closed |
||||
| Skate |
Wing Fishery |
1/1 – 12/31 |
18,200 lbs/vsl/wk wings or |
|||
|
Bait Fishery |
Sub Periods |
25,000 lbs/vsl/day |
||||
| Tautog |
16″ |
Sub-Periods |
Closed |
|||
| Weakfish (Squeteague) |
16″ |
Open Season All other times call RIDFW for details |
100 lbs/vsl/day |
|||
| Winter Flounder |
12″ |
1/1 – 12/31 |
50 lbs/vsl/day |
|||
| The harvesting or possession of winter flounder is PROHIBITED in Narragansett Bay north of the Colregs Line of Demarcation as well as in Potter and Point Judith Ponds | ||||||
| Yellowtail Flounder |
12″ |
1/1 – 12/31 |
No limit |
|||
| Atlantic Herring |
No |
Closed annually |
Area 2: 2,000 lbs/vsl/trip |
|||
| River Herring |
NA |
1/1- 12/31 |
Prohibited in state waters |
|||
|
Species |
Minimum |
Season |
Possession Limit |
|||
| American eel |
9″ |
1/1 – 12/31 |
25 eels/person/day 50 eels/vsl/day for licensed party/charter vessels |
|||
| American plaice (dab) |
14″ |
1/1 – 12/31 |
No limit |
|||
| Black Sea Bass |
15″ |
6/24 – 8/31 |
3 fish/person/day |
|||
| Bluefish |
No minimum |
1/1 – 12/31 |
15 fish/person/day |
|||
| Cod |
21″ |
1/1 – 12/31 |
10 fish/person/day |
|||
| Summer Flounder (Fluke) |
19″ |
5/3 – 12/31 |
6 fish/person/day |
|||
| Special Area Provisions:While fishing from shore at India Point Park in Providence; Conimicut Park in Warwick; Rocky Point, Warwick; Stone Bridge in Tiverton; East and West Walls (Harbor of Refuge), Narragansett; Fort Wetherill, Jamestown; and Fort Adams, Newport; anglers may possess up to 2 summer flounder 17 inches or greater in length from May 3, through December 31 as part of their 6 fish possession limit. The remaining 4 fish must be 19 inches or larger. | ||||||
| Monkfish (Goosefish) |
17″ whole |
1/1 – 12/31 |
50 lbs tails/day or |
|||
| Haddock |
18″ |
1/1 – 12/31 |
No limit |
|||
| Pollock |
19″ |
1/1 – 12/31 |
No limit |
|||
| Scup (Shore and Private) |
9″ |
1/1 – 12/31 |
30 fish/person/day |
|||
| Special Area Provisions: While fishing from shore at India Point Park in Providence; Conimicut Park in Warwick; Rocky Point, Warwick; Stone Bridge in Tiverton; East and West Walls (Harbor of Refuge), Narragansett; Fort Wetherill, Jamestown; and Fort Adams, Newport; anglers may possess up to 30 scup 8 inches or greater in length from May 1, through December 31 | ||||||
| Scup (Party and Charter) |
9″ |
1/1 – 8/31 |
30 fish/person/day |
|||
| Skate |
No minimum |
1/1 – 12/31 |
10 fish/person/day |
|||
| Striped Bass |
28″ |
1/1 – 12/31 |
1 fish/person/day |
|||
| Striped Bass Fin Clipping: All striped bass 34 inches or larger harvested recreationally must have the entire right pectoral fin removed at the time of harvest | ||||||
| Tautog |
16″ |
4/1 – 5/31 |
3 fish/person/day |
|||
| Tautog (Party and Charter) |
16″ |
4/1 – 5/31 |
3 fish/person/day |
|||
| Weakfish (Squeteague) |
16″ |
1/1 – 12/31 |
1 fish/person/day |
|||
| Winter Flounder (Blackback) |
12″ |
3/1 – 12/31 |
2 fish/person/day |
|||
| The harvesting or possession of winter flounder is PROHIBITED in Narragansett Bay north of the Colregs Line of Demarcation as well as in Potter and Point Judith Ponds | ||||||
| Witch Flounder (Gray Sole) |
14″ |
1/1 – 12/31 |
No limit |
|||
| Yellowtail Flounder |
13″ |
1/1 – 12/31 |
No limit |
|||
Schedule an adventure!
Look around at our site and when you get ready to schedule your next great fishing charter adventure just pick up the phone and call us at: 401-789-3756.
As a safety precaution, please do not bring glass on the boat – cans only.