FREDON -- Hunters killed 241 bears during a six-day hunt that concluded Saturday, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The controversial season will resume for another six days starting Dec. 4.

A final 52 bears were brought to the state's five check stations Saturday, a day in which three protesters were arrested in the Whittingham Wildlife Management Area.

Bill Crain, a City College of New York professor who spent just over a week in jail last winter after his seventh conviction since 2005 for acts of civil disobedience during the hunt, was arrested after leaving the designated protest zone and crossing the street toward the check station.

Two other protesters were arrested on Monday, and all five have been charged with the same three offenses, including obstructing the administration of law, DEP spokesman Robert Geist said.

Bear hunts have occurred yearly under Gov. Chris Christie, but Democratic candidate for governor Phil Murphy has pledged to bring the controversial hunt to a halt if elected.

While the hunt picked up following a rainy opening day in which 26 bears were killed, this year's pace remains well behind last year, when a record 636 were killed in 12 days.

A total of 562 bears were killed in the first half of the 2016 hunt, which was the first hunt extended from the usual December season into October.

As in 2016, hunters were restricted to archery for the first three days, with muzzleloader rifles also allow starting on the fourth day.

The hunt took place in eight northern counties, but as usual most of the activity was in Sussex County.

Of the 241 bears killed through Saturday, 135 were killed in Sussex County -- followed by 48 in Warren County, 34 in Morris County and 20 in Passaic County.

Three bears were killed in Hunterdon County and one in Bergen County, while none were killed in Somerset and Mercer counties.

While bears have been sighted in all 21 counties, the population is most heavily concentrated in northwestern New Jersey.

DEP estimates that 2,400 to 2,800 bears live in an area roughly north of Route 78 and west of Route 287.

Hunt opponents dispute those estimates and charge that the population has been significantly reduced due to the yearly hunts under Christie.

Prior to 2010, the only bear hunts since the early 1970s -- when the population was nearing extinction -- were in 2003 and 2005.

Hunt supporters counter by citing safety concerns, including the fatal mauling in 2014 of a 22-year-old Rutgers University student in West Milford.

Sixteen bears that were "tagged" were killed last week, decreasing the chances of the hunt being extended in December.

Under the rules of the hunt, DEP may add another four days if fewer than 27 tagged bears have been killed. That threshold represents 20 percent of the tagged bears.

Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook