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Marine Recreational Fishing Regulations

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Species, Minimum Sizes, Daily Limits,
& Fishing Seasons

Effective April 1, 2011: Species regulations are subject to change in 2011, but were not available at press time. For legal purposes, the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies must be consulted. Visit www.ct.gov/dep/laws-regs or contact Marine Fisheries (860-434-6043) for current regulations.

Recreational Open Season Extension for Scup (Porgy): The recreational scup fishery closure scheduled to occur on September 27 (October 12 for Party/Charter vessels) has been suspended. The recreational scup fishery will remain open through the end of 2011. For anglers fishing from shore or on private vessels, the minimum size (10.5″) and bag limit (10 fish) remain unchanged during the extended open season.

For paying passengers fishing from a party or charter vessel (P/C), the current 40 fish bag limit remains in place only through October 11. Thereafter, the bag limit returns to 10 fish. The 11″ minimum size for P/C fishermen remains unchanged through the rest of the year.

NEW FOR 2011: Summer Flounder (Fluke) taken from SHORE ONLY at a designated summer flounder (fluke) reduced size limit (minimum length) fishing access site listed in Appendix A* shall not be less than 17 inches, provided no fish less than 18.5 inches shall be possessed on any boat, at any boat launch facility, or at any dock, pier or marina where sport fishing boats are moored or tied up. Please see Appendix A (Designated Summer Flounder SHORE Fishing Sites) at right. DAILY CREEL LIMIT is 1 fish. Please see Marine Recreational Fishing Regulations Table below for more information.

Species	Notes	Open Season	Minimum Length	Daily Creel Limit (fish per angler)
Alewife/ Blueback Herring	The taking of Alewife and Blueback Herring is prohibited.
American Eel	Eel Pots limited to 2 pots per person, personal use only. Legal Methods: Angling, Snagging, Eel Pot	Year Round	6″	50
American Shad	In the Pawcatuck River, the open season for American Shad follows Rhode Island regulations and the daily limit is 1 shad.	Year Round	None	6 (American and Hickory Shad in aggregate)
Atlantic Cod	Visit www.nero.noaa.gov/nero/regs for updated federal regulations.	Year Round	22″	10
Black Sea Bass	Regulations may change this year, please see www.ct.gov/dep/fishing for updated fishing regulations.	July 1 – October 1 and November 1 – December 31	13″	25
Bluefish		Year Round	None	10 (including snapper bluefish)
Haddock	Visit www.nero.noaa,gov/nero/regs for updated federal regulations.	Year Round	18″	None
Hickory Shad		Year Round	None	6 (American and Hickory Shad in aggregate)
Pollock	Visit www.nero.noaa,gov/nero/regs for updated federal regulations.	Year Round	19″	None
Scup (Porgy)	Private Anglers	May 24 – December 31	10.5″	10
	Party/charter vessels	June 8 – Sept. 6 & Oct. 12 – Dec. 31	11″	10
	Party/charter vessels	Sept. 7 – Oct. 11	11″	40
Sea-Run Trout (Brown, Brook, Rainbow)		Year Round	15″	2 (all species in aggregate)
Striped Bass	No spearing or gaffing	Year Round	28″	2
Summer Flounder (Fluke)	On the water, fillets must meet minimum length or be accompanied by a legal sized rack (carcass) New for 2011	May 15 – September 5	18.5″	3
Summer Flounder Shore Fishing Only* (See Appendix A, at right for Specific Summer Flounder Shore Fishing Locations)	New for 2011: Fish taken from SHORE FISHING SITES ONLY at a designated summer flounder (fluke) reduced size limit (minimum length) fishing access site listed in Appendix A* shall not be less than 17 inches (Total Length) and the Daily Creel Limit is 1 fish. Please see this page for Appendix A (Designated Summer Flounder SHORE Fishing Sites).	May 15 – September 5	17″	1
Tautog (Blackfish)	Regulations may change this year, please see www.ct.gov/dep/fishing for updated fishing regulations.	January 1 – April 30	14″	4
		July 1 – August 31	14″	2
		October 1 – December 6	14″	4
Weakfish		Year Round	16″	1
White Perch		Year Round	7″	30
Winter Flounder		Open season: April 1 – May 30 Closed season: May 31 – March 31	12″	2
Sharks/Tuna	http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/

Appendix A: Designated Summer Flounder (Fluke) SHORE Fishing Access Sites
Name	City	Owner
Fairfield County
Saint Mary’s by the Sea	Bridgeport	City
Seaside Park	Bridgeport	City
Ash Creek Open Space	Fairfield	City
Jennings Beach	Fairfield	City
Penfield Beach	Fairfield	City
Penfield Reef	Fairfield	City
Calf Pasture Beach	Norwalk	City
Maritime Aquarium Park	Norwalk	City
Bond’s Dock	Stratford	City
Long Beach	Stratford	City
Point-No-Point	Stratford	City
Russian Beach	Stratford	City
Short Beach Park	Stratford	City
Sherwood Island State Park (CT DEP)	Westport	State
Middlesex County
South Cove Causeway	Old Saybrook	State
New Haven County
Branford Point	Branford	City
Chaffinch Island Park	Guilford	City
Hammonasset Beach State Park (CT DEP)	Madison	State
Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center	Milford	Audubon
Gulf Beach	Milford	City
Silver Sands State Park (CT DEP)	Milford	State
Criscuolo Park	New Haven	City
East Shore Park	New Haven	City
Fort Nathan Hale Park	New Haven	City
Bradley Point Park	West Haven	City
Sandy Point	West Haven	City
Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary	West Haven	City
New London County
Cini Memorial Park	East Lyme	City
Hole-in-the-Wall Beach	East Lyme	City
McCook Park	East Lyme	City
Rocky Neck State Park (CT DEP)	East Lyme	State
Eastern Point Beach	Groton	City
Mystic River Park	Mystic	City
City Pier / Fort Trumbull State Park (CT DEP)	New London	City
CT DEP Marine Headquarters- Ferry Landing State Park	Old Lyme	State
Stonington Point	Stonington	State
Stonington Town Dock Fishing Pier and Memorial	Stonington	City
Harkness Memorial State Park (CT DEP)	Waterford	State
Jordans Cove Water Access	Waterford	State
Mago Point Park	Waterford	City
Waterford Beach Park	Waterford	City

Minimum length is measured from the tip of the snout (head) to the end of the tail.

Spearfishing is an allowed recreational activity, subject to all sport fishing regulations.

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