Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife. Year 2005 Tidal Water Recreational Fishing Limits

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1 Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife Year 2005 Tidal Water Recreational Fishing Limits No license is required for hook and line recreational fishing in tidal waters. It is illegal to fish for any species of game fish (see Gamefish and General Fishing Restrictions) with more than two hooks and lines, and each hook and line shall have no more than three separate lures with hooks. (Photos provided as a courtesy and/or purchased from artist Duane Raver and the US Fish & Wildlife Service ) NAME OF FISH SPECIES OPEN SEASON MINIMUM SIZE (Inches) CREEL LIMIT (Number Per Day) Atlantic Croaker All Year 8 None American Eel All Year 6 50 American Shad*** All Year None 10 (In Combination)

2 Closed (Nanticoke River & Tributaries) Hickory Shad*** (Nanticoke River & Tributaries) All Year Closed None 10 (In Combination) River Herring# (Blueback Herring and Alewife) All Year None 25 Atlantic Sturgeon CLOSED Bluefish All Year None 10

3 Black Sea Bass All Year Red Drum All Year Max. 5, None greater than 27 Inches Tautog Closed Sept (April, May & June) 10 3 (April, May & June) Scup (Porgy) State Waters* All Year 8 50 Federal Waters* Jan. 1 - Feb

4 and Sept. 7 - Nov. 30 Spotted Seatrout All Year 12 None Spanish Mackerel All Year Striped Bass All Year** Non Tidal Water 15 Inches 2 2 Tidal Water 28 Inches Summer Flounder All Year 17 1/2 4

5 Weakfish All Year 13 8 White Perch All Year 8 None Winter Flounder All Year 10 None Unregulated Shark-Smooth Dogfish All Year

6 Unregulated (Recreational Only) Shark-Spiny Dogfish All Year Regulated Shark - Sandbar Shark For Other Regulated Sharks See the List Below All Year 54" 1 Blue Crab All Year 1 Bushel Per Crabber Hard Shell Peeler Soft Shell /2" Hard Clams All Year 1 1/2" Wide 100 Residents 50 Nonresidents (500 With Permit)

7 Smooth Whelk (Conch) All Year 6" length OR 3 1/8" Diameter Knobbed Whelk (Conch) All Year 5" length OR 2 3/4" Diameter Lobster All Year 3 3/8" Minimum Carapace length 2 Per Diver Females 5 1/2 Maximum *State waters include the Delaware River and Bay, Coastal Bays, and Atlantic Ocean out to 3 miles. Federal Waters include the Atlantic Ocean beyond 3 miles from the Delaware Shore. **Striped bass recreational season is closed on the spawning grounds (Nanticoke River, C&D Canal, and Delaware River and their respective tributaries north of the southern most jetty at the C&D Canal) during April and May. Striped Bass are not permitted to be retained if taken with a recreational gill net. *** American shad and hickory shad (species combined) daily limit 10; catch and release only in the Nanticoke River and its tributaries. # River herring and alewife 25 fish limit, aggregate of fish.

8 Finfish are measured from tip of snout to tip of tail. Blue crabs are measured tip to tip on the back (Females with eggs are protected, females with U-shaped apron have no size limit). Lobster carapace length is measured from rear of eye socket to rear of body shell. SHARKS - It is unlawful to: possess the fins from any shark listed in the table below prior to landing unless the fins are attached to the body. fillet any shark listed in the table below prior to landing said shark. A shark may be eviscerated and the head removed prior to landing. release any shark listed in the table below in a manner that will not ensure the maximum probability of survival. have on board more than one shark listed below except that two Atlantic Sharpnose sharks may also be on board. possess any prohibited species at any time, in Delaware waters this would include sand tiger sharks, dusky sharks and white sharks possess any shark listed below that measures less than 54 inches, forked length. Shark Species Large Coastal Species Great Hammerhead Scalloped Hammerhead Smooth Hammerhead Tiger Shark Nurse Shark Silky Shark Blacktip Shark Bull Shark Sandbar Shark Lemon Shark Spinner Shark Small Coastal Species Finetooth Shark Bonnethead Atlantic Sharpnose Shark Blacknose Shark Pelagic (open sea) Species Porbeagle Shark Shortfin Mako Blue Shark Oceanic Whitetip Shark Thresher Shark Prohibited Species Basking Shark Great White Shark Bigeye Sand Tiger Sand Tiger Whale Shark Bignose Shark Caribbean Reef Shark Dusky Shark Galapagas Shark Narrowtooth Shark Night Shark Atlantic Angel Shark

9 Caribbean Sharpnose Shark Smalltail Shark Bigeye Sixgill Shark Sevengill Shark Sixgill Shark Longfin Mako Shark Bigeye Thresher Shark Additional Information about Sharks For information or to report a violation, call 1 (800) Fishing for highly migratory oceanic species such as bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna, yellowfin tuna, true albacore, blackfin tuna, swordfish, billfish and certain shark species, when caught in waters outside of Delaware's jurisdiction (ocean waters greater than 3 miles offshore), are subject to federal regulations. For further information on federal regulations, call the National Marine Fisheries Service at ( or (508) In addition, a 24-hour information line is available at (301) or (508) Final Rule on Monitoring of Recreational Landings of Atlantic Billfish and Swordfish and Recreational Retention Limit for North Atlantic Swordfish. DNREC Online Home Division Home Page Delaware's Home Page 2005 Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control 89 Kings Hwy Dover, DE 19901