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FYI Atlantic Herring vs River Herring & A Little on Shad

3K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  RJ35 
#1 ·
Here you go:

Hi Ryan -

My name is ------ with the Department's Division of Fish and Wildlife. We appreciate your effort to contact the Department with your questions regarding herrings and shads. First off, the main reason for not finding any info on Atlantic herring in our recreational regulations is because there are currently no season, bag or size limits for this species. Kudos to you for efforts to stay within the river herring (alewife and blueback herring) regulations when you were not sure what to do. We expect no changes to the Atlantic herring recreational regulations in the near future.

Be aware that the new moratorium regulations for river herring are for all marine waters. A moratorium will be implemented soon in freshwater areas although some harvest and possession will be allowed in certain landlocked lakes. That is all the details I can give you at this time. A final decision will be coming soon so keep an eye on our website (NJFishandWildlife.com) for further information. It would also be helpful to sign up for our email notices if you do not already receive them.

As for hickory shad, you are correct in that the Department considers hickory shad and American shad as one species for regulatory purposes. The current bag limit is 6 fish per day in marine waters and 3 fish per day in freshwater areas of the state. Please be advised that the shad regulations will be changing beginning January 1, 2013 to come into compliance with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Interstate Management Plan. There will most likely be a moratorium for recreational harvest of shad - both hickory and American - in all marine and freshwater areas except the Delaware Estuary. At that time, the recreational bag limit will be 3 fish for the entire Delaware system and its tributaries.

I hope this helps. If you have any additional questions on these subjects, or have any other fishery related questions, you can contact me via reply or the phone number below. Thanks again for contacting the Department and enjoy your 2012 fishing experience!

----

This should clear some things up. I removed the guys name because I am posting this in a public forum.

HICKORY SHAD - I know they have been few and far between in the Delaware River, but I have never seen so many around the Cape May County backwaters and inlets as I have in recent years. From late spring into winter I can walk across them. Does this just come down to a lack of science? Are the fish I am seeing spawning in the local SJ rivers?

I understand keeping the American Shad open, even if kept to a minimum. It is a huge recreational draw to the region. But, how about close hickory shad in the river and allow harvest in marine waters. There are TONS of them around. TONS.

Anyway, it appears that pretty soon these Atlantic Herring are the only thing we are going to be able to use for strip bait that is white, shiny and able to caught in our local waters.

RyanF
 
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#2 ·
Another thing I found interesting was his mention of the river herring closure in MARINE waters. He did mention that a moratorium was coming soon for freshwater areas.

So, what is the deal right now? I know alot of people think they cannot use herring in the Delaware River this spring - is that true? Yes, it may be soon, but I am just not quite sure that it is true at this current moment.

RyanF
 
#3 ·
I was thinking something similar about the "moratorium that will be implemented soon in freshwater areas". So by the law, if herring showed early enough in freshwater portions of river systems before a freshwater moratorium is declared, anglers could still possess river herring and use them in those freshwater areas? :nuts:

DEP should make that freshwater moratorium effective immediately to avoid serious confusion.
 
#4 ·
Man he is good. The guy who wrote the email already busted me for posting this on here!

DEP should make that freshwater moratorium effective immediately to avoid serious confusion.
I agree. I think most anglers have come to terms with it anyway. We know the river herring need some help, so let's go 100% here.

RyanF
 
#5 ·
if that be the anadromous fish biologist, yes..he monitors all the local boards for pertinent threads :D

truly is a confusing letter, though.

And for the life of me, I don't know why they'd consider hickory and american under the same "shad" reg. Doesn't make sense.
 
#7 ·
if that be the anadromous fish biologist, yes..he monitors all the local boards for pertinent threads :D

truly is a confusing letter, though.

And for the life of me, I don't know why they'd consider hickory and american under the same "shad" reg. Doesn't make sense.
Because the common fisherman cannot tell the difference. And I agree about that, but how often do you encounter american shad in the backbay and inlet areas?

dude,

you are obsessed with herring
I am obsessed with anything that swims besides Michael Phelps.....I just wanted to make sure I was being legit bro.

RyanF
 
#9 ·
:Originally Posted by rob
if that be the anadromous fish biologist, yes..he monitors all the local boards for pertinent threads :D

truly is a confusing letter, though.

And for the life of me, I don't know why they'd consider hickory and american under the same "shad" reg. Doesn't make sense.
Because the common fisherman cannot tell the difference. And I agree about that, but how often do you encounter american shad in the backbay and inlet areas?



Ryan,

The root of the NJ problem is the lack of funds in NJ to properly maintain the salt water fisheries. I know of no other state that combines Hickory Shad with American Shad.

It is a desperate move to protect American shad by a department so thin
it can not create a handout or an online poster showing the difference between the species.

Do hickory shad spawn in the spring or fall?
 
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