State officials say that more than 20 bears have been killed on the first day of the New Jersey black bear hunt.

The Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish and Wildlife says that the hunt helps to manage the population size of black bears in the state. This is the first of two hunting segments.

The first phase ends on Saturday. The second phase will take place in December.

“The bear hunt each year is an important part of our integrated management plan for black bears which includes research, education, monitoring, adverse conditioning, and then the regulated hunt,” says DEP assistant commissioner Dave Golden.

New Jersey’s bear hunt was canceled at one time under the Murphy administration. But Gov. Phil Murphy brought it back due to an increase in bear-human encounters.

Anyone planning on bear hunting should check out the DEP website for a list of rules and regulations.