New Jersey Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch Reduction Area
Monkfish and spiny dogfish vessels fishing with gillnets in the New Jersey Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch Reduction Area are subject to gear restrictions described below. These are intended to reduce bycatch of Atlantic sturgeon in these fisheries.
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Area
This area (as seen above) is defined by straight lines connecting the following points in the order stated below:
| N latitude | W longitude |
|---|---|
| 40°24’ | 73°54′ |
| 40°9′ | 73°24′ |
| 39°30′ | 73°51′ |
| 39°48′ | 74°12′ |
| 40°24’ | 73°54′ |
Low-Profile Gillnet Requirement
Season: Year round, Starting January 1, 2026
Vessels fishing on a Monkfish-only DAS within the New Jersey Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch Reduction Area with gillnets with a mesh size 10 inches or greater must use a low-profile gillnet, defined as follows:
- Mesh size ranging from 12 to 13 inches,
- Net height ranging from 6 to 8 meshes tall,
- Net length of 300 feet,
- Tie-down length less than or equal to 30 inches,
- Tie-down spacing of 12 feet,
- Primary hanging ratio of 0.50,
- Twine size of 0.81mm, and
- Tie downs at every float to keep the float line down.
Overnight Soak Prohibition
Season: May 1 through 31 and November 1 through 30
Vessels issued a Federal spiny dogfish permit must remove roundfish gillnet gear with mesh size equal or greater than 5 inches and less than 10 inches from within the New Jersey Atlantic Sturgeon Bycatch Reduction Area from 8:00 PM Eastern Time each day through 5:00 am the following day