Maryland DNR Reports Poor Striper Spawning for the 6th Straight Year – On The Water

For the sixth straight year, the Maryland DNR is reporting abysmally low striped bass recruitment in the Chesapeake Bay. Since 1957, the DNR has used seine nets to survey fish populations at various sites throughout the bay, establishing a Young-of-Year (YOY) Index that has proven to be a reliable indicator of future striped bass abundance. In 2024 the Index was a paltry 2.0.

(Featured Photo: A juvenile striped bass caught and released by a survey crew in the Nanticoke River. Photo by Joe Zimmermann, Maryland DNR.)

Over the previous five years, the YOY Indices are as follows:

2019: 3.4
2020: 2.5
2021: 3.2
2022: 3.6
2023: 1.0 (The second lowest on record behind 2012)

These have all been well below the long time average YOY Index of 11.0. This means that few young striped bass have entered the population over the last six years, and is rightfully causing alarm among striped bass fishermen and fisheries managers.

Successful striped bass recruitment is largely dependent on environmental conditions during the spring spawning season. While fishery managers have little control over that, what is in their control, and in the control of each striped bass fishermen, is how we conserve and protect the existing population of adult striped bass during this time of poor natural reproduction. The first thing every angler can do is focus on proper catch-and-release practices to enhance a striper’s odd of survival after being caught.

In Virginia, preliminary results from the YOY survey conducted by researchers at William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and the Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences also suggest a poor year class of striped bass was produced in the Chesapeake Bay’s Virginia tributaries this year.

Read more below from the Maryland DNR report:

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced results of this year’s juvenile striped bass survey, which tracks the reproductive success of Maryland’s state fish in the Chesapeake Bay. The 2024 young-of-year index is 2.0, well below the long-term average of 11.0, and marks the sixth consecutive year of poor reproduction.

“These results underscore the complexity of managing a coastal migratory species whose life-cycle is influenced by environmental conditions during a brief spawning period,” said Maryland DNR Fishing and Boating Services Director Lynn Fegley. “We will continue to explore ways to conserve and enhance the spawning population during this time when we are adding fewer young fish to the population.”

During this annual survey, fishery managers examine 22 sites located in four major striped bass spawning areas: the Choptank, Nanticoke, and Potomac rivers, and the upper Chesapeake Bay. Biologists visit each site three times per summer, collecting fish with two sweeps of a 100-foot beach seine net. The index represents the average number of young-of-year striped bass found in each sample. The juvenile striped bass average less than 3 inches long and are not usually encountered by anglers. Similar fish surveys conducted this summer in the Patapsco, Magothy, Rhode, West, Miles, and Tred Avon rivers found fewer striped bass, also known as rockfish.

Efforts to rebuild the Atlantic Coast population of striped bass have been ongoing for several years. Although recent population estimates indicate improvement, low levels of reproduction will influence future conservation measures under consideration by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

In recent years, Maryland has implemented management actions aimed at rebuilding the spawning stock, including reductions to catch limits, increased protections for spawning fish, tighter slot limits, and season closures. However, warm conditions in winter continue to negatively impact the reproductive success of striped bass, whose larvae are very sensitive to water conditions and food availability in the first several weeks after hatching. Other species with similar spawning behavior such as white perch, yellow perch, and American shad also experienced below-average reproduction this year.

The below-average year classes will likely become more apparent among the adult population of striped bass in the coming years, as the juveniles reach maturity. While environmental conditions hamper reproductive success, fisheries managers focus conservation efforts on adult striped bass so that the spawning population can produce a strong year class when environmental conditions are favorable.

Source: https://onthewater.com/maryland-dnr-reports-poor-striper-spawning-for-the-6th-straight-year

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