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Finfish and Fishing Information for Buzzards Bay

General Information

In Massachusetts, no license is required for salt water fishing, but there may be size or catch limits on certain species. In freshwater, anyone over 14 requires a license. A permit is also needed to catch herring in Rivers, even if it is caught as bait. We recommend visiting the MassWildlife page below for detailed information on fishing laws in Massachusetts.

Since the 1800s, the use of otter trawls and seining has been prohibited in Buzzards Bay. These limits are defined in the Division of Marine Fisheries regulations, 322 CMR 4.00. This prohibition may have originated in a similar ban in other Massachusetts water adopted in Chapter 196 of the Acts of 1881 by the Massachusetts Legislature.

Mass Wildlife Page at MA Fish and Wildlife
Mass Division of Marine Fisheries Recreational Fishing Page

Size and Catch Limits

While there is no license required for saltwater fishing in Massachusetts, many species have catch limits on size or number. Below are limits of some popular species in Buzzards Bay. This information is from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (click to see if there is an update).

Recreational Finfish Regulations as of June 25, 2007
Species	Season Open - Close	Size Limit	Possession Limit
American Eel (1)	All Year	6 in	50 fish
Black Sea Bass (2)	All Year	12 in	20 fish
Bluefish	All Year	none	10 fish
Dab (Plaice)	All Year	14 in	none
Fluke	All Year	17.5 in	5 fish
River Herring (6)	Emergency Ban	Harvest, possession, sale and use are prohibited	0 fish
Scup (3)	May 01 - Sep 30	10.5 in	25 fish
Striped Bass (4)	All Year	28 in	2 fish
Tautog	All Year	16 in	3 fish
Weakfish (squeateague or sea trout)	All Year	16 in	10 fish
Winter Flounder Limits for Buzzards Bay So. of Cape Cod (5)	Apr 22 - May 21	12 in	4 fish
Winter Flounder Limits for Buzzards Bay So. of Cape Cod (5)	Sep 23 - Oct 22	12 in	4 fish
Yellowtail Flounder	All Year	13 in	none

Notes:

1) Subject to regulation by the Division and local community. Consult local regulations
2) Black sea bass are measured from the tip of the snout or jaw (mouth closed) to the farthest extremity of the tail, not including the tail filament.
3) Scup has a recreational limit of 25 fish per angler with a maximum of 50 fish per private vessel with 2 or more fishermen on board. Anglers on for-hire vessels are allowed 60 fish per angler during May and June only.
4) Bass must be kept whole, with head, tail and body intact - no mutilation permitted (other than evisceration). The discard of dead, legal size striped bass is prohibited. To prohibit the practice of high-grading, recreational fishermen may not retain legal-sized striped bass and release said fish in favor of another larger legal-sized striped bass captured subsequently. It shall be unlawful to keep striped bass alive in the water by attaching a line or chain to the fish or placing the fish in a live well or holding car. Striped bass are measured from the tip of the snout or jaw (mouth closed) to the farthest extremity of the tail.
6) It is unlawful for any person to harvest, possess or sell river herring in the Commonwealth or in the waters under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth. These measures will expire on January 1, 2009.

Click this Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Link for the latest information and updates.

Species Profiles from Cornell University Extension Service website

These fact sheets were prepared from "Bigelow and Schroeder's Fishes of the Gulf of Maine ", 3rd Edition.

Click for either the:

Fishes of Buzzards Bay Poster 8.5 x 11 inch micro version (111 kb pdf), which is just barely readible when printed, but magnifies well on your computer screen.

or the Fishes of Buzzards Bay Poster 34 x 40 inch poster version (1.5 MB pdf), if you own a large format plotter or printer.

This is the Methods Summary Poster (320 kb pdf).

New: Fishes of Buzzards Bay poster

The poster in the box at the right prepared by Tony Wilbur, at MCZM and Matt Camisa at DMF for a conference.

Full Poster Title: "INTRAANNUAL VARIATION IN FISH POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS AND SEAFLOOR HABITAT RELATIONSHIPS IN A LARGE ESTUARINE EMBAYMENT: BUZZARDS BAY, MASSACHUSETTS, Anthony R. Wilbur, Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, Boston, MA Matthew Camisa, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Pocasset, MA."

Fishing Clubs

Cape Cod Bass

Hyannis Anglers Club
Hyannis Anglers Club is a saltwater sport fishing club sponsoring Bass and Bluefish tournaments, and the Cape Cod Giant Bluefin Tuna Tournament each October

Massachusetts Striped Bass Association

Town specific information

State Information on state funded boat ramps and fish species

Our program was established in 1985 after Congress designated Buzzards Bay an "estuary of national significance." We joined the NEP in 1987. Our mission is to protect and restore water quality and living resources in Buzzards Bay and its surrounding watershed through the implementation of the Buzzards Bay Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. Click to read more.

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Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program