Director’s Message

See you on the coast!

As a longtime seacoast resident, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our digest of regulations for saltwater fishing on New Hampshire’s seacoast. Our coastal anglers can experience sport fishing at its finest. Striped bass are one of our biggest marine fisheries management success stories, and recreational saltwater anglers also target bluefish, mackerel, flounder, tuna and a wide assortment of groundfish in our waters during spring, summer and fall. During the winter, smelt recreational fishing is enjoyed in Great Bay and tributaries when ice is formed.

The health of our coastal resources is the focus of Fish and Game’s Marine Fisheries Division, based in Durham, N.H. This dedicated staff manages our estuarine and saltwater species, including fish, lobsters, clams and oysters. Our biologists work closely with other state and federal agencies to protect and maintain marine resources and habitats for both recreational and commercial fisheries. These efforts are essential to rebuilding groundfish stocks, enhancing related habitat and maintaining healthy populations of species such as Atlantic herring, striped bass and lobsters in the New England region. Marine resources are a vital contributor to the state’s economy; New Hampshire’s lobster fishery alone harvested more than 3.9 million pounds, valued at $16.3 million in 2011.

Recreational saltwater anglers can help Fish and Game monitor coastal species by taking part in our surveys. If you encounter Fish and Game’s trained survey staff at one of the many saltwater fishing access sites along New Hampshire’s seacoast or on the ice in the winter, I encourage you to take a few minutes to speak with them and participate in the Access Point Angler Intercept Survey or winter smelt survey. If you target striped bass, Fish and Game invites you to participate in mail-in or electronic logbook reporting ofyour striped bass catch and effort. Find out about these and other survey efforts involving the public at wildnh.com/marine.

See you on the coast!

Glenn Normandeau

Executive Director

NH Fish and Game Department – Our Mission

As the guardian of the state’s fish, wildlife and marine resources, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department works in partnership with the public to:

• Conserve, manage and protect these resources and their habitats;
• Inform and educate the public about these resources; and
• Provide the public with opportunities to use and appreciate these resources.