Business as Usual for Striped Bass Management

On November 8th a proposal to reduce the striped bass harvest was defeated by a vote of 9 to 6 by the Striped Bass Management Board. Stripers Forever reported that The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) disregarded a great amount of public testimony as well as government statistics that show the fishery is rapidly deteriorating, due at least in part from the poor recruitment of young fish and the over harvesting of large ones.

The states with commercial fisheries led the effort to continue harvesting at current high levels. States voting to deny any striped bass harvest reduction were: MA, NY, NJ, MD, VA, and NC. while ME, NH, RI, CT, PA, and DE voted to hold public hearings to consider a harvest reduction.

With the coast wide recreational catch off by 75% the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service should have exercised caution and erred on the side of conservation. The feds claim overfishing is not occurring, but with a 75% decrease in the recreational catch they should have realized something is wrong. This high risk style of management threatens the health of the striped bass and other fisheries.