Bluefish

This is a Nature Guide page (viewing and ID). Catch limits, tackle, and charter fit live on the separate Fishing species profile—we keep those products apart on purpose.

How to recognize them

• They grow fast, up to 31 pounds and 39 inches.
• They are able to reproduce at age 2, when they’re 15 to 20 inches in length.
• Depending on their size, females can have between 400,000 and 2 million eggs.
• Bluefish spawn multiple times in spring and summer.
• They exhibit feeding behavior called the “bluefish blitz,” where large schools of big fish attack bait fish near the surface, churning the water like a washing machine.
• They feed voraciously on their prey, eating almost anything they can catch and swallow.
• Bluefish have razor-sharp teeth and shearing jaws that allow them to ingest large parts, increasing the maximum size of the prey they can eat.
• They eat squid and fish, particularly menhaden and smaller fish such as silversides.
• Sharks, tunas, and billfishes are typically the only fish predators large and fast enough to prey on adult bluefish.
• Bluefish make up a major part of the diet of shortfin mako sharks and are also very important in the diets of swordfish .
• Oceanic birds prey on juvenile bluefish.
• Where They Live Range Along the East Coast from Maine to eastern Florida.
• Habitat Bluefish live in temperate and tropical coastal oceans around the world, except in the eastern Pacific.
• They gather by size in schools that can cover tens of square miles of ocean, equivalent to 10,000 football fields.
• Bluefish migrate seasonally, moving north in spring and summer as water temperatures rise and then south in autumn and winter to waters in the South Atlantic Bight.
• Females release their eggs in the open ocean.
• Larvae develop into juveniles near the surface in continental shelf waters and eventually move to estuarine and nearshore shelf habitats.
• Juveniles prefer sandy ocean bottoms but will also inhabit mud, silt, or clay ocean bottoms or vegetated areas.
• Adults live in both inshore and offshore areas and favor warmer water.
• Fishery Management NOAA Fisheries , the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council , and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission manage the bluefish fishery.
• Managed under the Bluefish Fishery Management Plan : Commercial fishermen must have a permit to catch and sell bluefish.
• Managers set an annual catch limit.
• The majority of catch is allocated to the recreational fisheries.
• The commercial catch limit is divided into state-specific allocations.
• Unused recreational catch can be re-allocated to commercial fisheries.
• A rebuilding plan to rebuild the stock to the target population level is in place with a target date of 2029.
• Harvest In 2024, commercial landings of bluefish totaled 2.3 million pounds and were valued at $2.3 million, according to the NOAA Fisheries commercial fishing landings database .
• In 2023, recreational anglers landed over 13 million pounds of bluefish, according to the NOAA Fisheries recreational fishing landings database .
• Florida, North Carolina, and New Jersey account for the largest percentage of the recreational bluefish harvest.
• Peak recreational harvest occurs from May through October with over 70 percent of the catch in July and August.
• Gear types, habitat impacts, and bycatch: Recreational fishermen use hook-and-line gear that has minimal impacts on habitat.
• Commercial fishermen use a variety of gears including trawls, gillnets, haul seines, and pound nets, and the impacts vary by gear type.
• Gillnets can occasionally entangle marine mammals.
• However, the bluefish fishery uses nets with small mesh and sinking gillnets to reduce bycatch.
• A rebuilding plan to rebuild the stock to the target population level is in place with a target date of 2029.
• Scientific Classification Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Actinopterygii Order Perciformes Family Pomatomidae Genus Pomatomus Species saltatrix Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 06/25/2026

Biology notes

• Along the East Coast from Maine to eastern Florida.
• Habitat Bluefish live in temperate and tropical coastal oceans around the world, except in the eastern Pacific.
• They gather by size in schools that can cover tens of square miles of ocean, equivalent to 10,000 football fields.
• Bluefish migrate seasonally, moving north in spring and summer as water temperatures rise and then south in autumn and winter to waters in the South Atlantic Bight.
• Females release their eggs in the open ocean.
• Larvae develop into juveniles near the surface in continental shelf waters and eventually move to estuarine and nearshore shelf habitats.
• Juveniles prefer sandy ocean bottoms but will also inhabit mud, silt, or clay ocean bottoms or vegetated areas.
• Adults live in both inshore and offshore areas and favor warmer water.
• Fishery Management NOAA Fisheries , the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council , and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission manage the bluefish fishery.
• Managed under the Bluefish Fishery Management Plan : Commercial fishermen must have a permit to catch and sell bluefish.
• Managers set an annual catch limit.
• The majority of catch is allocated to the recreational fisheries.
• The commercial catch limit is divided into state-specific allocations.
• Unused recreational catch can be re-allocated to commercial fisheries.
• A rebuilding plan to rebuild the stock to the target population level is in place with a target date of 2029.
• Harvest In 2024, commercial landings of bluefish totaled 2.3 million pounds and were valued at $2.3 million, according to the NOAA Fisheries commercial fishing landings database .
• In 2023, recreational anglers landed over 13 million pounds of bluefish, according to the NOAA Fisheries recreational fishing landings database .
• Florida, North Carolina, and New Jersey account for the largest percentage of the recreational bluefish harvest.
• Peak recreational harvest occurs from May through October with over 70 percent of the catch in July and August.
• Gear types, habitat impacts, and bycatch: Recreational fishermen use hook-and-line gear that has minimal impacts on habitat.
• Commercial fishermen use a variety of gears including trawls, gillnets, haul seines, and pound nets, and the impacts vary by gear type.
• Gillnets can occasionally entangle marine mammals.
• However, the bluefish fishery uses nets with small mesh and sinking gillnets to reduce bycatch.
• A rebuilding plan to rebuild the stock to the target population level is in place with a target date of 2029.
• Scientific Classification Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Actinopterygii Order Perciformes Family Pomatomidae Genus Pomatomus Species saltatrix Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 06/25/2026

Habitat & range

• NOAA Fisheries , the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council , and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission manage the bluefish fishery.
• Managed under the Bluefish Fishery Management Plan : Commercial fishermen must have a permit to catch and sell bluefish.
• Managers set an annual catch limit.
• The majority of catch is allocated to the recreational fisheries.
• The commercial catch limit is divided into state-specific allocations.
• Unused recreational catch can be re-allocated to commercial fisheries.

Population status

• Bluefish are blue-green on the back and silvery on the sides and belly.
• They have a prominent jaw, with sharp, compressed teeth.
• Biology Bluefish live up to 12 years.
• They grow fast, up to 31 pounds and 39 inches.
• They are able to reproduce at age 2, when they’re 15 to 20 inches in length.
• Depending on their size, females can have between 400,000 and 2 million eggs.

Where to see them around Ocean City

• Nearshore days: Inlet, guarded beaches, and bay overlooks. Farther days: watch for the same species from charter rails when water clarity and bait line up.
• Dawn and dusk often show more surface activity; midday heat can push fish deeper even when they are still in the area.
• Pair a beach walk with a short Inlet stop—two vantage points beat one crowded pier rail.

When to look

• Expect the richest shore viewing in summer; spring and fall migrations can still light up the Inlet and beaches.
• After storms, wait for water to clear—murky days hide even common species from the beach.
• Likelihood stars on this page reflect how often Maryland visitors can reasonably hope to encounter the species nearby—not fishing success rates.

Viewing tips & etiquette

• Use binoculars or a long lens; do not enter the water to corner fish, rays, or sharks for photos.
• Respect beach nesting closures, stay off dunes, and keep dogs leashed where required.
• If you find a stranded or injured animal, contact official wildlife responders—do not attempt rescue yourself.
• For harvest rules, size limits, or charter planning, use the Fishing profile for Bluefish —not this Nature Guide page.

Sources

• NOAA Fisheries species profile (biology reference; angling product stays on our Fishing hub)
• OCEANCITY.MD Fishing species profile