May 13, 2025 — Virginia fishery managers and others from Maine to North Carolina, as well as members of the public, convened on Tuesday to decide the next steps to protect the future of Atlantic striped bass, a valued and remarkable animal facing consecutive years of low spawning success and an overfished stock.
Atlantic striped bass have been referred to as “everyman’s fish” because they are caught by such a wide population of anglers up and down the coast, said Alex McCrickard, the aquatic education coordinator for the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
Their native range in Virginia spans from the freshwater spawning grounds of inland, tidal rivers like the Rappahannock, York and James to the salty, ocean waters off the Eastern seaboard.
Regulations for Virginia’s coastal, migratory striped bass stock are managed by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission in conjunction with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), who manages interstate fishery regulations for the stock between Maine and North Carolina.
Anglers can utilize a wide range of gear types and techniques to catch striped bass. Some target the fish for the excitement of catch and release, while others seek them out to harvest as a culinary staple.
As a resource, striped bass make up one of the “most valuable recreational fisheries on the Atlantic Coast,” said Emilie Franke, a fishery management plan coordinator for ASMFC. “I think one of the really unique things about it is that the fisheries really vary from state to state.”
“The Chesapeake Bay is as important to the striped bass and its successful life history” as the fish are to the coastal communities and economies of the region, said Allison Colden, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s executive director for Maryland.