Striped bass fisheries could see stricter regulations in 2025 following a special meeting on Dec. 16 by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC)’s Striped Bass Management Board.
The latest assessment of the striped bass population, unveiled in October, showed that striped bass remain overfished. In October, the Board voted to reconvene at a special meeting, now set for Dec. 16, to evaluate potential action for striped bass to increase the probability of rebuilding the stock by 2029.
Short-term projections estimated an increase in fishing mortality in 2025. If no action is taken, the probability of rebuilding the striped bass stock by 2029 is less than 50 percent. The Board determined that a 14 percent reduction in fishing mortality would be necessary to increase the likelihood of rebuilding to greater than 50 percent.
In preparation for the meeting, ASMFC’s Technical Committee prepared rebuilding projections for a number of different mortality scenarios with management options the Board could consider to reduce fishing mortality.
They include potential changes to recreational size limits, seasonal closures, commercial harvest reductions, or a combination of options.
In Chesapeake Bay, seasonal closures, particularly in the warm summer months, could help reduce striped bass mortality both from harvest and catch-and-release. Summer is when the highest levels of fishing effort coincide with warm water temperatures and poor water quality conditions, a deadly combination for striped bass in the Bay.
Even though many anglers practice catch-and-release, an estimated 9 percent of fish still die due to stress, injury, or poor handling.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) urges ASMFC’s Striped Bass Management Board to consider recent reproductive failures, protect the 2015 and 2018 striped bass year classes, and recommit to rebuilding the population by 2029.
ASMFC held an informational webinar on the striped bass options Dec. 5. A recording of the webinar can be found here. Public comments on proposed management options will be accepted through Dec. 10. Public comments can be submitted through CBF’s website here.
CBF’s Maryland Executive Director Allison Colden issued the following statement:
“For Chesapeake Bay, the future is now. We are already seeing direct effects of poor reproduction on Chesapeake Bay fisheries and those who make their livelihood from them. We’ve also seen what happens when fisheries managers fail to act in time to reverse a declining trend.
“We urge ASMFC to implement seasonal closures for the 2025 fishing season that achieve a 14 percent coastwide reduction in striped bass removals. It’s the only way to give this species a fighting chance.”
CBF’s Virginia Executive Director Chris Moore issued the following statement:
“We cannot leave the future of striped bass up to a flip of the coin. Now is not the time to take risks. We urge ASMFC’s Striped Bass Board to implement greater restrictions on recreational striped bass fishing right now. Environmental conditions from climate change and invasive predators will make it much harder for striped bass to rebound like they have in the past. Now is the time to act.”
