Minimum sizes for saltwater finfish are measured in three ways: Total Length (TL) is the overall length of the fish and is measured in the same manner as a largemouth bass; Fork Length (FL) is used to measure fish with deeply forked tails and is the distance from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail; Lower- Jaw Fork Length (LJFL) applies to billfish, such as marlins, and is the distance from the tip of the lower jaw to the fork of the tail.
Total length
Fork length
Lower jaw fork length
With the increasing popularity of saltwater angling, length, creel, and seasonal limits are being used to manage finfish in state and Federal waters. However, many anglers, particularly novices, find these regulations somewhat confusing. For instance, in freshwater, anglers measure most fish using a total length technique. However, in saltwater, fish are measured using a variety of techniques.
A spotted seatrout, which has a soft tail, is measured using the same technique you would use to measure a largemouth bass. A king mackerel, which has a deeply forked and rigid tail, is measured using a fork length technique. A billfish, such as a sailfish, is measured using the fork length technique; however, the measurement is taken from the tip of the lower jaw to the fork of the tail.
In many cases finfish which have a rigid forked tail will suffer damage to their tails during transportation from offshore fishing grounds. Consequently, if all saltwater finfish were covered by total length measurements, the angler might find themselves in a situation where the fish they caught was legal, but when that same fish is measured at the dock it would not be legal. Therefore, fishery managers have formulated the length regulations based on specific characteristics of the different finfish.
