Bottom line as I understand, every coastal State has control of waters up to 3 nautical miles offshore, beyond that it's federal. a State can have more restrictive regulations than federal. In this case the State [NJ] is more restrictive and takes precedence. By federal law you may legally catch 15 sea bass beyond 3 miles offshore but you CANNOT land those fish in NJ or any other adjoining State with similar restrictions.
So if your beyond 3 miles offshore you may be "legal" in federal waters, but how are you going to get those fish home? Once your within 3 nautical miles of shore the more restrictive State regulations kick in. Anywhere within 3 nautical miles of shore your in violation of NJ regulations and subject to fines. So as of August 1 LANDING sea bass is closed in NJ until 10/22, unless an emergency amendment to NJ regulations is made and from what I hear is NOT going to happen this season.
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