Q.Fishing Regulations & Conservation
What is a bag limit and how does it affect fish populations?
A.
A bag limit is the maximum number of fish of a species an angler can keep per day. State agencies set bag limits based on stock assessments — when a species is overfished, bag limits decrease; when stocks recover, limits can rise. Combined with size limits, bag limits are the primary tool for managing recreational harvest.
State regulations pages cover current bag limits by species.