October 20, 2025 — Preliminary results from an ongoing long-term survey conducted by researchers at William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS suggest that an average year class of young-of-year rockfish, or striped bass, was produced in the Virginia tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay in 2025. The 2025 year class, representing fish hatched this spring, will reach fishable sizes in three to four years.
The Batten School & VIMS Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey recorded a mean value of 5.12 fish per seine haul in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay. The 2025 value is similar to the historic average of 7.77 fish per seine haul and represents an improvement over the previous two years of below-average recruitment in Virginia tributaries.
Rockfish are an important top predator in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and a valuable resource for commercial and recreational anglers. Mary Fabrizio, a professor at the Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS, directs the Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey and notes that the economic and ecological values of rockfish lend significant interest to the year-to-year status of their population.