Bluefin tuna regulations change for the better

Bluefin tuna regulations changed for the better when NOAA announced last week new angling and charter/headboat highly migratory species regulations.  Effective July 1, 2025 private vessels with an HMS Angling permit can retain one bluefin tuna measuring 27 inches to less than 73 inches, and charter/headboat permit holders are allowed two bluefin tuna measuring 27 inches to less than 73 inches.    

This is good news as most bluefin caught in this area are over 47 inches and the present regulation is for fish measuring 27 inches to less than 47 inches.  

Many believe robust bait/forage profiles are here close to shore in great abundance due to warming water. And the fish are here because the forage fish they eat are here.   

This climate impact points to the need for enhanced stock assessments and climate research to keep tabs on fish stocks like tuna and other species particularly sensitive to overfishing due to stock shifts and enhanced fishing pressure. 

Capt. Mike Pierdinock, member of the New England Fishery Management Council and president of the Stellwagen Bank Charter Boat Association, said, “We have a unique situation, due to the January Executive Order closure delay in North Carolina the general category overfished their 37.7 metric tons quota. By the time they closed the fishery on Feb. 28 they had harvested 115 metric tons of bluefin tuna. That’s a lot when you consider the entire fishery is 1,300 metric tons. This combined with overfishing bluefin tuna in general in 2024, including the recreational fishing community for the first time since 2010, we are experiencing these reductions out of caution to prevent overfishing this year.” 

Hats off to Rick Bellavance, president of the RI Party & Charter Boat Association and chair of the New England Fishery Management Council as well as Mike Pierdinock for advocating for a larger bluefin size. 

For information visit the NMFS Permit Shop. 

Fluke tips from the experts 

It is summer flounder (fluke) fishing season and the bite is on around Nantucket Sound and Monomoy Island, Narragansett Bay, off Block Island and along the RI coastal shores. Here are tips from two fluke experts, right from my interview notes.   

Fluke tips from two of my favorite experts 

Greg Vespe, past president Aquidneck Island Striper Team. Often fishes with Capt. BJ Silvia, Flippen Out Charters. 

I tend to fish for fluke, especially June and July but some years throughout the whole summer. I like the soft plastic squid bodies in the Bay or the ‘lima bean’ style bucktails. For the squid bodies, I usually use either white/glow, or dark purple and a white strip, such as squid or fluke belly and sometimes I add a gulp. I usually run a teaser up about a 12 inches to 18 inches from the primary rig. If using a BJ Silvia rig I run the teaser 12 inches above, if a bucktail then approximately 18 inches above. I use a smaller teaser with a bucktail so as not to affect the bucktail action. I will fish for fluke from 20 feet to 160 feet in the Bay with wind and tide matching. I will use my trolling motor to help control boat and speed of drift (+ or -). 

 Jeff Sullivan, fishing writer, charter boat mate and associate at Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren, RI. 

May to June the fish are in lower water, say 25 feet. In summer they go deeper 45 to 100 feet. For bigger fluke stay away from the squid, I generally try to figure out what they are eating, strip that up i.e. sea robins, fluke bellies, black sea bass, Atlantic menhaden, etc. Fish rocky areas or on the edge of sand and a rocky area i.e. drop offs, fishing uphill/downhill. Like to use squid rigs (Jeff makes and sells the rigs at Lucky Bait & Tackle) with stingers, also jigs with light line, 20-pound braid so he can get down with the least amount of scope. I am always fishing the contours for larger fluke. 

In Rhode Island the fluke regulation is a 19 inches minimum size, six fish/person/day with special shore areas where anglers are allowed two 17 inch fish.  Visit Marine Fisheries Minimum Sizes & Possession Limits | Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management for special area details. Fluke regulations in Massachusetts include a minimum size of 17.5 inches from a vessel and 16.5 inches from shore with a five fish/person/day limit, for regulation details visit Recreational saltwater fishing regulations | Mass.gov.    

Where’s the bite? 

Striped bass/bluefish. “The spring run of striped bass has been very good  with high numbers of fish being caught in the Providence and Taunton Rivers as well as in Narragansett and Mt. Hope Bays,” said Jeff Sullivan of Lucky Bait & Tackle, Warren. “The herring are still coming out of the Rivers and there are Atlantic menhaden too so depending on where you are anglers are using 9 inch Doc’s to smaller 4 inch lures.  We also saw some bonito at the Newport Bridge this week.” Tom Giddings of the Tackle Box, Warwick, said, “This weekend we had large bass in Warwick and East Greenwich Coves with worm hatches occurring. The bass were everywhere with an occasional bluefish mixed in.” Angler Greg Spier, said, “My niece Kattie Lightbody of Foxborough caught a 34 inch striped bass using an umbrella rig in the Brenton Reef area off Newport.” 

Black sea bass, summer flounder (fluke), squeteague and scup. “We caught keeper fluke at Prudence Island this week, you had to work for them but they were there,” said Jeff Sullivan of Lucky Bait. Anglers are working to catch keeper black sea bass. “Scup are not abundant in the upper Bay but the bite is consistent off Newport and at the Sakonnet with a good fluke bite there as well as at Block Island,” said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle. “Large scup are being caught in the Bay with anglers landing squeteague and fluke at Warwick Light,” said Tom Giddings of the Tackle Box. Angler Matt Haczynski reports on the RI Saltwater Anglers blog, “Sunday the bite was insane off Newport.  The fluke tossed up squid all over the boat when they came on board. We had our limit before noon each day.”   

Freshwater.  “The largemouth bite continues to be excellent with frogs working well as the ponds I am fishing have a lot of vegetation and pads already,” said Jeff Sullivan of Lucky Bait. Tom Giddings of the Tackle Box, said, “Freshwater fishing is on fire with customers catching a 4.9 and a 5.1 pound largemouth using shiners. Both Little and Gorton Ponds in Warwick are hot.” 

Dave Monti holds a captain’s master license and charter fishing license. He serves on a variety of boards and commissions and has a consulting business focusing on clean oceans, habitat preservation, conservation, renewable energy, and fisheries related issues. Forward fishing news and photos to dmontifish@verizon.net, visit www.noflukefishing.blogspot.com or www.noflukefishing.com .