Saving Seafood

MARYLAND: Maryland Eyes August Rockfish Ban to Save Struggling Striped Bass

February 5, 2026 — Maryland anglers and conservationists have until Feb. 23 to weigh in on proposed changes to striped bass recreational fishing seasons that aim to bolster protection for the species during its most vulnerable periods in the Chesapeake Bay.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is accepting public comments on a “baseline reset” that would impose a full no-targeting closure for striped bass throughout August in Maryland waters, including the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. The proposal also includes reopening limited catch-and-release fishing in April, while maintaining harvest opportunities from May through July and from September through early December, with catch-and-release only from mid-December onward.

This adjustment addresses documented challenges facing striped bass, locally known as rockfish. Maryland’s juvenile striped bass survey has shown below-average recruitment for six consecutive years, meaning fewer young fish are surviving early life stages due to factors such as habitat degradation and predation by invasive species like blue catfish. Meanwhile, mature striped bass face elevated mortality risks during summer catch-and-release due to high water temperatures, low oxygen levels, and heat stress. Maryland-specific studies indicate release mortality rates can reach 30 to 40 percent in summer conditions, far higher than the 9 percent assumed in coastwide models.

Read the full article at The Southern Maryland Chronicle 

Watermen, fishermen challenge regulations under new Trump administration order

December 26, 2025 — On the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, fifth-generation charter boat captain Troy Wilkens is fishing for striped sea bass. Lately, Captain Troy says business has been slow, largely, he believes, due to overbearing state and federal regulations.

One recent rule reduced the number of striped bass his boat can carry at a time, from two fish per person down to one.

And Captain Troy says similar regulations have piled up, choking both his business and his passion.

“This was supposed to be my retirement. I come out here and do this, and it just doesn’t work out,” he said with a shake of his head. “It’s like every year they ask for something else. You need to sacrifice a fish. You need to use circle hooks

Read the full article at WMUR

Striped Bass are Struggling; UMass Amherst Biologists Know How to Help

December 2, 2025 — While there are only four official seasons in the year, anglers in the Northeast recognize a fifth: striper season, the months from May to November when striped bass, which can grow up to 100 pounds and are renowned for their fight once hooked, migrate along the coastal waters between the Chesapeake and Canadian Maritimes within range of thousands of fishing lures. But the fishery, which generated approximately $13 billion in economic activity along the Eastern seaboard in 2016, is crashing, despite the fact that the vast majority of bass caught by recreational anglers are released back into the ocean.

A pair of recent papers, led by biologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and published in Fisheries Research and Marine and Coastal Fisheries, sought to comprehensively pinpoint which catch-and-release fishing practices pose a considerable risk to striped bass, and to show that there’s a mismatch between what anglers know about catch-and-release best practices and how this knowledge translates into action once on the water.

Read the full article at UMass Amherst

Striped bass status quo remains as harvest reduction voted down

November 4, 2025 — The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted Oct. 29 to maintain the current striped bass management rules for 2026.

The board voted against a proposed 12% coast-wide cut in commercial and recreational harvest, which opponents said would have significant economic ramifications for the Chesapeake Bay area.

Without that reduction, organizations like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation are concerned the striped bass population will not rebuild by 2029, the target set after the species was declared overfished in 2019.

“It’s a requirement of the ASMFC (Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission) to rebuild that population to its target in 10 years… That is what the board itself has set forward as its own guidelines and targets,” Chesapeake Bay Foundation Executive Director Allison Colden said.

Though board members voted against the reduction at the Oct. 29 meeting, the fisheries commission granted Maryland the option to review and adjust its recreational fishing seasons through the Department of Natural Resources.

Read the full article at Southern Maryland News

NEW JERSEY: Stage set for critical public hearing on striped bass seasonal closures

September 12, 2025 — If you fish for striped bass, sell bait & tackle, run a for-hire boat, or simply just appreciate the fish, you should do your civic duty and take the drive to the Stafford Township Fire Co. this coming Tuesday (Sept. 16) for the 6 p.m. start to the public hearing on Draft Addendum 7, which aims to reduce the mortality of striped bass by 12%.

One should also prepare themselves by reading the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission 67-page Draft Addendum 7 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass, ahead of time. It is available on the ASMFC’s website.

In a nutshell, the ASMFC has been running up the red flag that striped bass are overfished. It has a 2029 goal of restoring the female spawning stock biomass to 247 million pounds, a benchmark set in 1995, the last time the stock was declared recovered. The spawning stock, according to 2023 data, currently sits at 191 million pounds, which is below the threshold of 197 million pounds — the overfished line.

Read the full article at northjersey.com

Public input sought for 2026 striped bass harvest restrictions

September 8, 2025 — East Coast fishery managers are seeking public feedback this month on options for cutting the catch of Atlantic striped bass to help rebuild its depleted population.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which represents state fishery managers from along the coast as well as federal agencies, voted in August to proceed with a plan to impose a 12% reduction in 2026 on both the recreational and commercial catch of the prized species.

If finalized later this year, the plan would trim the commercial harvest quota by that amount. To curb recreational catch, it would require East Coast states to shorten their striped bass fishing season or adjust the size limits for legally catchable fish.

Striped bass, or rockfish, are found in the Atlantic from Maine to the Carolinas, but the Chesapeake Bay is the primary spawning and nursery ground for 70% to 90% of the entire stock.

Read the full article at the Bay Journal

More catch restrictions due in 2026 to help struggling striped bass

August 18, 2025 — Amid signs that a hoped-for recovery of Atlantic striped bass may be faltering, East Coast fisheries managers are moving to further tighten already restricted catch limits on the popular but beleaguered migratory fish.

At a meeting on Aug. 6 in Arlington, VA, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s striped bass management board voted to proceed with a plan to impose a 12% reduction in 2026 on both recreational and commercial catch of the prized species.

The plan, if adopted later this year, would trim the commercial harvest quota by that amount, while it would require East Coast states to curb the recreational catch by shortening the fishing season or adjusting the size limits for legally catchable fish.

Striped bass are found in the Atlantic from Maine to the Carolinas, but the Chesapeake Bay, where they’re also called rockfish, is the primary spawning and nursery ground for 70% to 90% of the entire stock.

The coastwide striped bass population is currently struggling to recover from years of being overfished, a problem exacerbated by poor reproduction in the Bay — for six straight years in Maryland waters and for the past two years in Virginia. Striped bass spawning tends to vary year to year, but it has never been this low for this long, and scientists aren’t sure why.

The fisheries commission ordered catch restrictions in the Bay and along the coast in 2020 and again in 2024 to halt overfishing and rebuild the stock. But higher-than-expected recreational fishing in 2024, mainly along the Mid-Atlantic coast, cast a shadow over the projected recovery, lowering the odds the stock could reach a healthy level by 2029, as federal law requires.

Read the full article at the Bay Journal

UMaine researchers seeking striped bass remains to study fish’s diet

July 7, 2025 — If you fish for striped bass, researchers at the University of Maine could use the guts.

A graduate student is leading a project to analyze and better understand the feeding habits of the fish.

She says findings may help researchers and wildlife management make more informed decisions regarding the bass and its prey.

She and her colleagues are asking anglers to donate their legal striped bass remains after filleting them to the study.

Read the full article at WABI

Officials spark debate with proposal to lift ban on controversial fishing practice: ‘One of the biggest unknowns’

June 18, 2025 — Maryland officials are considering lifting a current ban on fishing for striped bass.

However, reopening fishing could impact the species’ already-low reproduction rates and threaten its survival in the Chesapeake Bay.

What’s happening?

As Maryland Matters reported, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources is looking to allow striped bass fishing, with restrictions, in April and May. In exchange for opening up springtime fishing, the department proposed a complete ban in August to prevent the heat-related deaths that can follow catch-and-release methods.

The DNR stated that it wants to approach its striped bass fishing season similarly to how it’s handled in the Potomac River of Virginia, per Maryland Matters. It also wants to increase fishing tourism in the spring and support local fishing guides and tackle shops.

However, even catch-and-release fishing is linked to declining striped bass populations during spawning season. This impact is most significant in the hot summer months when fish are extracted from the water and can’t survive after anglers toss them back in from their hooks.

“That’s one of the biggest unknowns about this kind of fishery,” said Reid Nelson, a fisheries ecologist. “If this fishery blows up [with a lot more catch-and-release in spring] even if the fish continue to spawn, does that impact the quality of larvae?”

Read the full article at TCD