DE Revises Recreational Daily Possession Limit Regs for Bluefish

TOD Archive Bluefish Catch

Anglers in search of bluefish can now catch more daily! DNREC has revised the Delaware fishing regulations for bluefish for recreational anglers – the daily possession limit for 2026 and 2027 has been increased from 3 to 5 bluefish for anglers fishing from private vessels and from shore – the limit for anglers aboard for-hire vessels increases from 5 to 7 bluefish a day. This change is in effect – and ensures the State’s compliance with regional fisheries management plans.

Additional information from DNREC:

The action taken by Delaware on bluefish adopts management measures approved by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Bluefish Management Board in 2025. Both entities reviewed the 2025 management track assessment for the species, which found that bluefish overfishing was not occurring. They also recognized that while the stock was not overfished, it was not yet fully rebuilt to the biomass target the fisheries management bodies had set.

Spawning stock biomass was estimated to be about 89% of the biomass target in 2024, with stock projections that it will have reached rebuilt status in 2025, though awaiting confirmation in the 2027 stock assessment.

Based on the positive trajectory for the stock, the MAFMC and ASMFC adopted a recreational harvest limit (RHL) for bluefish of 22.02 million pounds for 2026, and of 22.50 million pounds RHL for 2027. Compared to 2025, these values represent an increase of approximately 40% for the RHL – resulting in Delaware raising the daily possession limit for bluefish in 2026 and 2027.

For more information on this and other fishing regulations, see the online 2026 Delaware Fishing Guide.