New Jersey · Black sea bass
Can you keep a black sea bass in New Jersey?
Yes, with limits
May 15 – Jun 21 window
Closed todayOpen only May 15 through June 21 in this window Reopens after May 14. The numbers above are what applies when it is open.
12.5 inches throughout the year; the bag changes four times. This first window: 10 a day, May 15–June 21.
Jun 22 – Sep 22 window
Open todayCloses each year Open only June 22 through September 22 in this window
The tightest window of the year: just 1 a day, June 22 through September 22, covering the peak of summer.
Sep 23 – Oct 31 window
Closed todayOpen only September 23 through October 31 in this window Reopens after September 22. The numbers above are what applies when it is open.
Back up to 10 a day, September 23 through October 31.
Nov 1 – Dec 31 window
Closed todayOpen only November 1 through December 31 in this window Reopens after October 31. The numbers above are what applies when it is open.
The most generous window of the year: 15 a day, November 1 through December 31. Black sea bass is one of two species on this page (with sharks) that New Jersey measures from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail rather than its usual method.
What we left out on purpose
- This page carries the seven species on NJDEP's own 'Attention Anglers' quick-reference card — the document the agency itself hands anglers first. The full 'Marine Digest' (a much longer document) covers further species — scup, sheepshead, black drum, spot and others among them — that are not carried here. The card explicitly calls itself a summary and not the full law.
- Shark is left out. NJDEP's own card gives only a vessel limit (1 fish per vessel) and defers size, season and gear entirely to NMFS federal rules — no state-published size exists to carry.
- Hard clam and blue crab appear on the same official card but are shellfish and crustaceans, not fish, and are left out along with every other state on this site.
- dep.nj.gov sits behind an Imperva bot-check that blocks direct fetches (curl, WebFetch) even with a live session's cookies. The PDF here was retrieved through a same-origin fetch() executed inside an authenticated browser tab — the same technique would work for the full Marine Digest if a future session wants to expand this state's coverage.
