Thread: Possession limits?

I found the daily creel limits for most of the fish i catch on the pier.Never have seen any possession limits so I just took it there isn't any.Anybody clue me in ??

I know for a fact that the limit on Spanish is 15 even if you give them away after that your done. If you release them you can catch all you want. Kings are up to 3 daily.

These laws vary widely from state to state, I'm not sure about Alabama and can't readily find specific information.
Since I do not see a Possession limit for fish, I gather there isn't one as long as you're not caught actively fishing with more than your daily limit in possession.

Creel Limit is what you've caught during the fishing session your currently involved in.
Possession is both your daily creel limit and what you have on hand elsewhere, at camp/home
Possession is often different from creel limit to allow for multiple day limits of fish/game.
Some states can and will charge you for exceeding possession, usually utilized in cases of gross excess and poaching.

Well... Just found this for freshwater, I'd say that saltwater is probably the same.

chttp://www.eregulations.com/alabama/guide/fishing-daily-creel-possession-size-limits/

2. It shall be unlawful for any person to take or have in possession more than the daily limit for any fish as established herein...

I guess there are a helluva lot of violators of this law... But not me, no way.

I'm pretty sure the possession limit is the same as the daily creel limit. One grey area is that you can clean your fish on the pier during the day and it makes identity difficult with some species once they are fillets in plastic bags. I always try to fillet everything at the end of the day even though a fish that's chilled overnight is much easier to clean-at least for my limited skills. Another grey area is if you get lucky enough to catch a limit of pompano and get luckier and have someone give you a couple OR if you and someone else are using the same cooler. I had a guy freak out on me last year when I released a barely legal pompano because I wanted to be able to keep three bigger ones. He argued that I could give him that one and still catch three more. When I refused he had a meltdown.

The old king limit use to be two. I know it has happened but I haven't watched too many people say, Well that is my second King so I will just watch you other guys fish". Basically, I just wouldn't walk off the pier with any fish over the allowed limit.

Don't fish in possession cease to count as fish once they are cleaned and "processed"?

The 'man' hisself says Creel and Possession limits are the same in Alabama...
Outdoors Notebook: Alabama's Marine Resources Director says 'double dipping' is illegal | AL.com

By Jeff Dute
on May 23, 2011 at 10:15 AM

With the June 1 opening of red snapper season approaching, Maj. Chris Blankenship, director of Alabama's Marine Resources Division, wants to make anglers aware of the answer to an important question he's been asked several times over the past few days.
"Multiple trips where the same people are keeping red snapper in one day are not legal," he said.
Blankenship went on to say that since the two-fish daily bag limit is also the possession limit, even on a two-day trip, anglers can only possess one day's bag limit.
I asked him about the law and how it applies to folks who catch and cook their fish on the boat.
"It is still a daily limit. Under the law, if they catch their two fish and cook and eat them on the boat, they are done for the day," he said.
Blankenship added that this same rule of law applies to all fish with the same daily bag and possession limits. I've had people call me in the past to report seeing folks catching multiple limits of speckled trout, redfish and flounder on separate trips in one day. That's illegal, Blankenship said.
This also means an angler would be in violation of daily bag and possession limits if he or she keeps or transports any number of another angler's fish above their own daily bag or possession limit, Blankenship said.

So the same would hold for spanish mackerel, etc. above the 15 fish creel.
That is plenty for anyone IMHO ;-)
When I catch mine, I simply start fishing for something else.

Originally Posted by fordguy

Don't fish in possession cease to count as fish once they are cleaned and "processed"?

No, as Pier #r notes, above it is a daily limit, BUT, if you take them away from the scene of the crime it becomes much harder to prove how many were taken on a given day. I think proving it is why on snapper reporting you are supposed to give the name of every person on the boat.

... and on the pier, catching over the limit and giving them away is still a violation.
But like frednic said it is pretty difficult for an officer to prove.