Tidal Seasons, Size & Creel Limits
Tidal Waters (Changes expected for species listed in RED) |
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Species |
Open Season |
Minimum Size |
Daily Limit |
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American eel |
All year |
9 inches |
25 |
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American & hickory shad |
Closed Nanticoke R. & its tribs.; Open all year elsewhere |
No Size Limit |
2 American shad 10 Hickory shad |
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Atlantic croaker |
All year |
8 inches |
50 |
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Atlantic sturgeon |
Endangered – no harvest permitted (see Have You Seen a Sturgeon Lately? section in Tidal Fishing Regulations) |
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Black drum |
All year |
16 inches |
3 |
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Black sea bass |
May 15 - Sep. 30 |
13 inches |
15 |
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Oct. 10 - Dec. 31 |
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Bluefish |
All year |
No Size Limit |
3 – fishing from a private vessel or shore 5 – fishing from a charter boat or headboat |
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Catfish (any species) |
All year |
No Size Limit |
No Daily Limit |
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Cobia |
All year |
43 inches |
2 per angler or 2 per vessel |
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Red drum |
All year |
20 - 27 inches may be retained |
5 |
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River herring (alewife & blueback) |
Closed - no harvest permitted |
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Scup |
All year |
9 inches |
30 |
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Spanish mackerel |
All year |
14 inches |
15 |
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Spot |
All year |
No Size Limit |
TBD – Please refer to electronic version |
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Spotted seatrout |
All year |
12 inches |
No Daily Limit |
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Striped bass |
All year, except catch & release only on spawning grounds Apr 1- May 31 |
28 – 31 inches; except 20 – 24 inches only - Jul 1 - Aug 31 in the DE Bay, River and their tributaries. |
1, except catch & release only on spawning grounds April 1 - May 31 |
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Summer flounder |
All year |
January 1 - May 31: 16 inches |
4 |
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Tautog |
Jan. 1 - May 15 |
16 inches |
4 |
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July 1 - Dec. 31 |
4 |
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Tilefish (Blueline) |
May 1 - Oct. 31 |
No Size Limit |
3 - person from private vessel |
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Tilefish (Golden) |
All year |
No Size Limit |
8 |
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Weakfish |
All year |
13 inches |
1 |
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White perch |
All year |
8 inches |
No Daily Limit |
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Winter flounder |
Feb. 11 - Apr. 10 |
12 inches |
2 |
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Blue crab - See Crab page for more details ![]() |
Pots: Mar. 1 - Nov. 30; other gears year around |
Peeler - 3 inches |
1 bushel |
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Soft-shell - 3.5 inches |
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Hard-shell - 5 inches |
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Jonah crab ![]() |
All year |
4 3/4 inches |
50 |
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Hard clams ![]() |
All year |
1.5 inches |
100/resident |
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50/non-resident |
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Lobster ![]() |
All year |
3 3/8 - 5 1/4 inches (slot) |
2; V-notched prohibited |
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Conch - See Conch page for more details |
Knobbed whelk |
All year |
5 inches / 3 inch whorl |
5 bushels |
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Channeled whelk |
All year |
6 inches / 3.125 inch whorl |
5 bushels |
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Sharks and Highly Migratory Species (HMS) - Special permit required for federal waters |
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Species |
Open Season |
Minimum Size |
Daily Limit |
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Smoothhound and spiny dogfish |
All year |
No Size Limit |
No Daily Limit |
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Blacktip shark, bull shark, lemon shark, nurse shark, silky shark, spinner shark, tiger shark |
Jan. 1 - May 14 July 16 - Dec. 31 |
54 inches FORK LENGTH |
Boat anglers - only 1 shark of any species per vessel, except 1 additional bonnethead and 1 additional Atlantic sharpnose per angler onboard vessel. Shore anglers - only 1 shark of any species per angler, except 1 additional bonnethead and one additional Atlantic sharpnose per shore angler. Possession of oceanic white-tip sharks is prohibited. |
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Great hammerhead, scalloped hammerhead, smooth hammerhead |
Jan. 1 - May 14 |
78 inches FORK LENGTH |
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Blue shark, oceanic white-tip shark, porbeagle, thresher shark |
All year |
54 inches FORK LENGTH |
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Atlantic sharpnose shark, blacknose shark, bonnethead, finetooth shark |
All year |
No Size Limit |
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Prohibited Species |
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Sandbar shark, sand tiger, Atlantic angel shark, basking shark, bigeye sand tiger, bigeye sixgill shark, bigeye thresher, bignose shark, Caribbean reef shark, Caribbean sharpnose shark, dusky shark, Galapagos shark, longfin mako, narrowtooth shark, night shark, sevengill shark, shortfin mako, sixgill shark, smalltail shark, whale shark, white shark |
The sandbar & sand tiger are toothed sharks commonly taken in the nearshore waters of the state and are prohibited species. Like all prohibited species, they must be immediately released to ensure the maximum probability of survival. |
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Special Restrictions for Shark |
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It is unlawful to fillet a shark prior to landing. A shark may be eviscerated prior to landing, but head, tail and fins must remain attached to the carcass. |
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It is unlawful to release a shark in a manner that will not ensure the sharks maximum probability of survival (i.e. no gaffs, no clubbing, careful hook removal, etc.). A non-offset, corrodible, non-stainless steel circle hook must be used when fishing for shark, except when fishing with flies or artificial lures. |
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It is unlawful to possess the fins from any shark prior to landing unless they are naturally attached to the body of the shark. |
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Tunas and HMS - Special permit required |
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Atlantic tunas, swordfish and billfish |
*Special permit required - All private vessel owners/operators recreationally fishing for and/or retaining regulated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (Atlantic tunas, sharks, swordfish and billfish) for personal use in the Atlantic Ocean must obtain an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Angling Permit. Further limits and restrictions apply. Consult the Atlantic HMS Angling Permit page or call toll free (888) 872-8862 for specific information and permits. |
Measuring Your Catch
Place the fish on a measuring board or stick with the tip of the jaw or snout (the mouth closed) at the end of the instrument. Hold the head down with one hand to keep the fish in place, pinch the upper and lower lobes of the tail together while swiping the tail back and forth across the board. Note the measurement of the longest part of the tail*; that is the “total length.” Keep in mind that fish which barely make the minimum length may shrink after being on ice for an hour or more. Sometimes it is possible to get an accurate measurement while the fish is still in the landing net.
