Maryland DNR Reports Poor Striper Spawning for the 6th Straight Year

For the sixth straight yr, the Maryland DNR is reporting abysmally low striped bass recruitment within the Chesapeake Bay. Since 1957, the DNR has used seine nets to survey fish populations at varied websites all through the bay, establishing a Younger-of-Yr (YOY) Index that has confirmed to be a dependable indicator of future striped bass abundance. In 2024 the Index was a paltry 2.0.

(Featured Photograph: A juvenile striped bass caught and launched by a survey crew within the Nanticoke River. Photograph by Joe Zimmermann, Maryland DNR.)

Over the earlier 5 years, the YOY Indices are as follows:

2019: 3.42020: 2.52021: 3.22022: 3.62023: 1.0 (The second lowest on document behind 2012)

These have all been nicely beneath the very long time common YOY Index of 11.0. Because of this few younger striped bass have entered the inhabitants during the last six years, and is rightfully inflicting alarm amongst striped bass fishermen and fisheries managers.

Profitable striped bass recruitment is essentially depending on environmental circumstances in the course of the spring spawning season. Whereas fishery managers have little management over that, what’s of their management, and within the management of every striped bass fishermen, is how we preserve and shield the prevailing inhabitants of grownup striped bass throughout this time of poor pure copy. The very first thing each angler can do is deal with correct catch-and-release practices to boost a striper’s odd of survival after being caught.

In Virginia, preliminary outcomes from the YOY survey carried out by researchers at William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and the Batten Faculty of Coastal & Marine Sciences additionally recommend a poor yr class of striped bass was produced within the Chesapeake Bay’s Virginia tributaries this yr.

Learn extra beneath from the Maryland DNR report:

The Maryland Division of Pure Assets introduced outcomes of this yr’s juvenile striped bass survey, which tracks the reproductive success of Maryland’s state fish within the Chesapeake Bay. The 2024 young-of-year index is 2.0, nicely beneath the long-term common of 11.0, and marks the sixth consecutive yr of poor copy.

“These outcomes underscore the complexity of managing a coastal migratory species whose life-cycle is influenced by environmental circumstances throughout a short spawning interval,” mentioned Maryland DNR Fishing and Boating Companies Director Lynn Fegley. “We’ll proceed to discover methods to preserve and improve the spawning inhabitants throughout this time once we are including fewer younger fish to the inhabitants.”

Throughout this annual survey, fishery managers study 22 websites situated in 4 main striped bass spawning areas: the Choptank, Nanticoke, and Potomac rivers, and the higher Chesapeake Bay. Biologists go to every website 3 times per summer time, accumulating fish with two sweeps of a 100-foot seashore seine internet. The index represents the common variety of young-of-year striped bass present in every pattern. The juvenile striped bass common lower than 3 inches lengthy and usually are not normally encountered by anglers. Comparable fish surveys carried out this summer time within the Patapsco, Magothy, Rhode, West, Miles, and Tred Avon rivers discovered fewer striped bass, often known as rockfish.

Efforts to rebuild the Atlantic Coast inhabitants of striped bass have been ongoing for a number of years. Though latest inhabitants estimates point out enchancment, low ranges of copy will affect future conservation measures into consideration by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Fee.

Lately, Maryland has applied administration actions aimed toward rebuilding the spawning inventory, together with reductions to catch limits, elevated protections for spawning fish, tighter slot limits, and season closures. Nevertheless, heat circumstances in winter proceed to negatively impression the reproductive success of striped bass, whose larvae are very delicate to water circumstances and meals availability within the first a number of weeks after hatching. Different species with related spawning habits corresponding to white perch, yellow perch, and American shad additionally skilled below-average copy this yr.

The below-average yr courses will probably grow to be extra obvious among the many grownup inhabitants of striped bass within the coming years, because the juveniles attain maturity. Whereas environmental circumstances hamper reproductive success, fisheries managers focus conservation efforts on grownup striped bass in order that the spawning inhabitants can produce a robust yr class when environmental circumstances are favorable.