Bluefish harvest to stay steady in 2019

Federal fishing managers are looking to keep the quotas for bluefish about the same next year.

Bluefish are a popular sport fish that are also harvested commercially as food. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it’s looking to implement proposed catch limits for the fish that are mostly status quo with the current year.

Bluefish have been harvested commercially from Maine to Florida over the years.

Locally, the oldest fishing tournament in the country’s oldest seaport, the Lanes Cove Bluefish Tournament, featured the fish. 

For the last five years, Three Lantern Marine, 7 Parker St., and Winchester Fishing Co. have hosted a combined bluefish and striped bass tournament;  last year’s winning bluefish, caught by Tim McCoy, weighed 15.9 pounds.

The annual catch has been fairly consistent in recent years, with fishermen bringing about 4 million or 5 million pounds of bluefish to the docks. The biggest producers in 2016 were North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report