TRENTON (AP) - A total of 139 bears were killed during the first six-day period of New Jersey's annual black bear hunt, as expected a steep drop from last year's total following restrictions imposed by the governor.

Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy this year barred bear hunting on state-owned lands, removing roughly 40 percent of the lands where bears were hunted over the past eight years.

In 2017, according to data from the state Department of Environmental Protection, 244 bears were killed during the six-day hunt that opened the season. After a second scheduled six-day hunt and a four-day extension, a total of 409 bears were killed for the year.

Murphy has said that New Jersey will pursue more nonlethal methods to manage the state's black bear population.