Fighting for a future striped bass fishery

This season anglers and commercial fishermen are following new striped bass limits in the Chesapeake Bay and along the Atlantic Coast. There’s good reason.

Persistent concerns about low striped bass numbers led Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) this May to take additional steps to address the number of striped bass that are dying after being caught and released, as well as unsustainable commercial fishing rates.

ASMFC’s latest steps aim to get rebuilding efforts back on track. We must face the hard truth that striped bass are struggling. Concerns stem from below average numbers recorded over last five years by Maryland’s juvenile striped bass survey—an annual count of the number of young striped bass in Chesapeake tributaries. The 2023 count was dismal—the second-lowest since the survey began in 1957.

The Bay’s commercial striped bass catch has also seen a decline of about 40 percent from 2012 to 2022. Maryland and Virginia’s commercial harvest totaled 4.5 million pounds in 2012 and just 2.7 million pounds in 2022, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

These numbers make it clear: without action now, there might not be a striped bass fishery in the future.

To address population concerns, ASMFC’s Striped Bass Management Board voted at its spring meeting to establish a workgroup to reduce catch and release mortality. The workgroup will explore the effectiveness of season closures, impacts of different types of fishing tackle, and the reduction in fishing effort needed to reduce striped bass losses.

Earlier this year, Maryland implemented emergency regulations to prohibit fishing for striped bass during crucial spring spawning times (April 1 through May 15). The state also closed fishing for striped bass during two weeks in late July, when fish are most likely to get stressed and die after release.

To meet additional ASMFC’s requirements, all Atlantic Coast states implemented a one-fish limit for recreational anglers. In the Chesapeake Bay, keepers must measure between 19 and 24 inches.

States also implemented a 7 percent reduction in the commercial harvest.

What has everyone so concerned is the lack of smaller striped bass present in the Bay. The last time we saw a strong group of young striped bass was back in 2015—which are the big fish being caught today. We must leave these fish in the water to reproduce and rebuild the striped bass population. As a recent Maryland DNR study shows, older, larger female striped bass produce far more eggs. There’s extra risk in hot months when the water is warm and holds less oxygen, making catch and release mortality rates are high. When air temperatures are above 95 degrees, about 17 percent of shallow hooked striped bass died after release, according to a Maryland DNR study.

Anglers in Maryland who care about striped bass can take the following steps to help ensure the fishery’s future:

Avoid targeting striped bass during summer (June through August) when high water temperatures stress fish and make them less likely to survive being caught. Anglers can reference Maryland DNR’s Striped Bass Advisory Forecast to determine if air and water temperatures are safe.

Practice careful catch and release tactics, such as using barbless circle hooks, keeping fish in the water, and supporting fish with two hands if handling.

Try fishing for other species, such as invasives like blue catfish or snakehead. The upper Bay and its tributaries are prime for targeting pickerel, white perch, and yellow perch. In higher salinity areas, anglers can target cobia, red drum, speckled trout, Spanish mackerel, and many other species.

Forty years ago, striped bass numbers reached a crisis point. Fishery regulators implemented a moratorium that shut down Maryland’s striped bass fishery from 1985 to 1989. Striped bass numbers rebounded through the 1990s, and the moratorium is considered a major success story for fisheries management.

But there are new factors challenging the current recovery of striped bass, including climate change, pollution, habitat loss, invasive species, and overfishing. New fishing limits are one of the most immediate, effective actions that can be taken to rebuild striped bass numbers.

Making these sacrifices today will help us avoid another moratorium and ensure that the striped bass fishery has a future.