Why is there a minimum fillet length requirement for ocean whitefish, but no minimum size limit for this species?
A.This is due to the similarity of appearance between whitefish and bass (barred sand bass and kelp bass) fillets, in order to prevent dishonest anglers from taking short bass (minimum size limit is 12 inches), filleting them and then claiming they are whitefish fillets. If you catch and choose to keep an ocean whitefish that may not meet the minimum fillet length (6 inches) once it is filleted, the best advice to avoid running into this problem is to keep the fish whole, or gutted, until you get home and prepare the fish for eating.
