The black sea bass is the enigma of mid-Atlantic fisheries. Since 2007, when the spawning stock biomass (SSB) was barely above the threshold that denotes overfishing, the stock has staged a remarkable comeback, with SSB reaching a high of 24,680 metric tons (mt), approximately 220 percent of the biomass target, in 2022. The SSB has […]
By any objective measure, the coastal migratory population of Atlantic striped bass has fallen on hard times. In Maryland, the juvenile abundance index (JAI), which has gauged the success of each year’s spawn since 1957, was 2.0 in 2024, far below its long-term average of 11.0. It was the sixth consecutive year of spawning failure […]
On Wednesday, August 14, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board voted to ignore the results of the Black Sea Bass 2024 Management Track Stock Assessment Report (Management Track Assessment), and leave the acceptable biological catch (ABC) and annual catch limit (ACL) for 2025 unchanged from […]
After the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC’s) Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board adopted Addendum II to Amendment 7 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass (Addendum II) in January 2024, it was generally assumed that striped bass management issues would be put on a back burner until a new stock assessment […]
When the Chesapeake Bay striped bass stock collapsed in the late 1970s, people tried to figure out why. Recreational fishermen were quick to point fingers at the commercial sector, which was not yet burdened by significant regulation. There were no gear restrictions and no annual quotas, and the fishery accounted for a larger share of […]
I was still in school the last time the striped bass stock collapsed. The crash began slowly, while I was still in college and had a summer job in a local tackle shop that let me be on the water just about every day. There were a lot of big fish around at the time; […]
Top photo by Capt. Dave Monti The Chesapeake Bay produces most of the migratory striped bass on the Atlantic Coast, and about two-thirds of those Chesapeake bass are spawned in Maryland’s waters. Maryland spawning success is so important to the overall health of the striped bass stock that, at the November 2022 meeting of the […]
It’s impossible to count every fish caught by recreational fishermen, yet accurate recreational catch and landings data are an essential part of the fisheries management process. Thus, saltwater fisheries managers are constantly seeking better estimates of anglers catch, landings, and effort. Currently, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) employs the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) […]
Join our email list to receive occasional updates and priority alerts
