May 13, 2015 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:
A new size limit on striped bass takes effect today, restricting Maine fishermen to one fish per day at 28 inches or greater.
The new limit is in response to an addendum to the interstate striped bass fishery management plan approved last year by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) which directed coastal states to reduce the harvest of striped bass by at least 25 percent from 2013 beginning in 2015.
The state’s previous daily bag limit also allowed recreational fishermen to keep one striped bass, but it could be from 20 to 26 inches long, or greater than 40 inches.
Maine has a year-round recreational only striped bass fishery. There are special regulations in effect from December 1 through June in the Kennebec, Sheepscot and Androscoggin Rivers and tributaries.
During March, the Maine Department of Marine Resources conducted public hearings to seek input on the 28 inch size limit, plus an option that proposed a change in the previous size limit to allow harvest of one fish between 24 and 26 inches.
After soliciting public input, the Department presented the 28 inch option as the preferred option to the DMR Advisory Council which voted unanimously in favor of it.
The ASMFC fishery management plan addendum responds to results of the 2013 Atlantic striped bass benchmark assessment which indicated that mortality in 2012 was too high, and female spawning stock biomass (SSB) has been steadily declining since 2006.
According to the ASMFC, this means even though the stock is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring, SSB is approaching its overfished threshold and stock projections show SSB will likely fall below the threshold in the coming years.
The new regulation can be found at http://www.maine.gov/dmr/lawsandregs/regs/dmrchapter42_05132015version.pdf.
For more information on the new regulation or on Maine’s striped bass fishery, contact Bruce Joule of the Maine Department of Marine Resources at 633-9505.