Blueline Tilefish
Caulolatilus microps
Partially verified
Handling & regulations: Confirmed live: the same federal recreational tilefish permit golden tilefish requires (Private Recreational Tilefish Permit, or Charter/Party Tilefish Permit for for-hire trips) also covers blueline tilefish, plus mandatory trip reporting. 2026 recreational season is May 15–November 14; possession limit is 3/person/trip on private boats, 5/person/trip on charter boats, 7/person/trip on party boats, with no minimum size. Tilefish as a group is named on the FDA/EPA's 'Choices to Avoid' mercury list alongside shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and marlin — this project could not get a clean direct fetch of the current live FDA chart, but this is corroborated consistently across multiple independent secondary sources.
Commonly confused with: Golden Tilefish. If you're not sure which one you've caught, treat it as the more restricted species and release it until you can confirm.
Identification
No large adipose flap on the head — the key field mark separating it from golden tilefish, which has one, A narrow gold stripe underlined in blue running from the snout to the eye — the source of the common name, Dull olive-gray back, white underside, long continuous dorsal and anal fins
Where this fish fits
These are discovery categories describing where anglers realistically fish for this species, not a guarantee this project has confirmed regional access at every listed setting — see the linked locations below for this project's own actually-sourced spots.
- Typical season
- Deep-dropped year-round when conditions and the federal season allow — a serious boat/gear commitment, not a casual trip, and a real component of the same fishery as the already-published golden tilefish.
- Habitats
- Continental shelf break and upper slope, 98–774 feet deep, concentrated between the Hudson and Veatch canyons in the Mid-Atlantic
- Food use
- Eat with caution
Data not yet verified.
This site hasn't checked for a fish-consumption advisory covering this species yet. That is not the same as confirmed safe — check current official guidance before eating your catch.
Seasons, size limits, and possession limits change and vary by water body. Always check the current regulations at the current regulations page before you fish.
- Bait & lures
- Deep-dropped squid or cut bait on electric or heavy conventional tackle
- Beginner difficulty
- Challenging
Part of this record is confirmed against an official source; other parts are not. See the notes below for exactly which.
Identification features, habitat/depth range, and the season/permit/bag-limit details above were directly confirmed via NOAA's own Blueline Tilefish species page as of 2026-08-16. The FDA mercury-advisory placement is corroborated via consistent secondary-source reporting, not a clean direct FDA fetch — same caveat already used on this site's golden-tilefish entry.