Can Striped Bass Conservation Save This Iconic Fishery—Again?

Striped bass conservation is back at a familiar crossroads, and anyone who loves this iconic Atlantic gamefish should be paying attention.

After crashing in the early 1980s, stripers came roaring back and produced decades of world-class fishing, including today’s 81.88-pound world record.

Now the stock is sliding again, and managers are trying to save the fish without gutting the coastal businesses, guides and anglers built around them.

The Boom-and-Bust History Behind Striped Bass Conservation

While fishing on Cape Cod’s Nauset beach in early November of 1981, Tony Stetzko landed a 73-pound striped bass. It was a record some thought might never be broken as striper stocks were nearing historical lows.

Surprisingly, it was broken the very next year with a 78.8-pound fish caught by New Jersey angler Al McReynolds, a record that stood for nearly three decades.

The 1980s were a low point, but thanks to conservative management, stocks rebounded over the next two decades, peaking in 2006. Just 4 years later, Connecticut angler Greg Myerson landed an 81.88 pounder, which has held the record since.

But stocks were already on the decline again and are now at a point where strong action is needed for recovery.

READ MORE: Nevada Angler Lands 25-Pound State Record Striper

Who Makes Striped Bass Conservation Decisions?

In state waters, striped bass are managed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), which includes three members from each state from Maine to Florida, including a state agency administrator, a legislator and a governor’s appointee, usually from the private sector.

The fish and the fishery vary significantly over that range, and the interests of one state may not align with those of another.

Proposed management plans and actions are brought before a board. Decisions are then made based on their deliberations and input from advisory panels and the general public.

Why Spawning Stock and Recruitment Matter

Fisheries managers use several benchmarks to determine if management action is necessary. One is spawning stock biomass (SSB), a measure of the adult reproducing fish in the population.

Another is recruitment (R), or how many new fish are entering the population. When either falls below a certain threshold, action must be taken.

The rub comes with deciding which action makes sense, since different states may take very different approaches to striped bass conservation.

What Managers Have Already Done for Striped Bass Conservation

Intuitively, strict harvest reductions seem like a simple solution to stalling declines and allowing stocks to recover. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

Those charged with managing striper stocks must also consider the fishery—those who fish for stripers and their economic importance. And they must do so cooperatively.

Several striped bass conservation measures have already been taken, including requiring circle hooks when using bait and reducing the slot limit from 28-34 inches to 28-31 inches.

However, stock assessments over the last several years still show poor recruitment. Meanwhile, fishing effort and harvest remain strong, suggesting the need for further action.

Would Catch-and-Release Help or Hurt Stripers?

One option under consideration is to implement a ban on taking stripers by limiting fishing to catch-and-release only. However, post-release mortality is the greatest source of removals.

If anglers were to fish for a shorter time and keep one fish, their impact on striper stocks would actually be less than if they fished catch-and-release for a longer time.

Another option is no targeting, meaning anglers could not even attempt to fish for stripers, even if they intended to release every one. It would certainly reduce mortality, but fisheries managers must also consider the impacts of severe restrictions.

A moratorium on targeting stripers would be economically devastating to those that depend on the fishery, like commercial striped bass fishermen, fishing guides, and tackle shops and manufacturers.

Furthermore, marine law enforcement agencies have collectively said such regulations would be unenforceable because they cannot prove intent.

Why One Striped Bass Rule Doesn’t Fit Every State

Both fish stocks and fishing effort are greatest from the mid-Atlantic to southern New England. As you move farther north, the reward for a moratorium grows smaller while the risk grows greater.

The overall impact on the resource from States like Maine and New Hampshire is negligible, accounting for only a fraction of the overall striped bass harvest.

However, striped bass are the only inshore gamefish in those states. Without the ability to target them, the for-hire industry and local tackle shops that specialize in saltwater fishing would cease to exist.

Commercial Harvest, Seasonal Closures and the Next Striped Bass Fight

There has been increasing pressure from recreational fishermen to make the striped bass exclusively a gamefish and close the commercial fishery altogether.

However, the commercial harvest accounts for only 15% of total removals. It operates under a strict quota and once that has been met, fishing must stop.

Yet another option that seems to be gaining more traction is seasonal closures. The objective is to reduce interactions and mortality during specific periods of the year when fishing effort is greatest or higher sea surface temperatures might increase post-release mortality.

Here again, mid-Atlantic states are better able to withstand closures. Even a three- or four-week closure in northern states represents a significant portion of the relatively brief fishing season, and in a region where water temperatures never reach critical levels.

The Recruitment Problem Striped Bass Conservation Still Has to Solve

Ultimately, the real problem and potential solution lie with recruitment. Scientists are frantically stepping up efforts to understand what causes periods of poor productivity. Salinity, water temperature and pollution all play a part, but we still don’t know to what extent, or what causes annual fluctuations.

Some also claim climate change is a factor, and it may be. Sea surface temperatures are rising, which they do on a roughly 70-year cycle.

But striped bass have been around for a long time. During the last ice age, much of New England was covered with a mile-thick sheet of ice. As recently as 3,000 years ago, sea level was 70 feet higher.

The fish were there through it all. Hopefully the agencies charged with restoring this iconic species will find a way, and one day another world-record striped bass will swim into the record books, whether it’s kept or released.

Editor’s Note: The author serves on the ASMFC Atlantic Striped Bass Advisory Panel.