Striped bass limits will be changing again immediately in 2023, as the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) and its Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board (Board) voted on an emergency measure to lower the upper end of the striped bass slot size to 31 inches.
The vote on Tuesday, May 2 means Atlantic coastal states will have to immediately enact new recreational striped bass regulations, with a coastwide slot of one fish at 28 to 31 inches in length.
The surprise decision came by way of a motion by the Board chair Dr. Michael Armstrong of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and was seconded by David Borden from Rhode Island. A final vote in favor of the emergency action was approved 15-1 vote, with the sole opposition coming from the state of New Jersey.
According to the official approved motion by the Board, the emergency action states that “jurisdictions are required to implement compliant measures as soon as possible and no later than July 2, 2023.” The emergency action will be in place for 180 days and may be extended for up to a year at the October meeting of the ASMFC.
“There are obviously administrative constraints to getting this in place, and state reps are going to have go back home to figure out how to communicate this, but the Board said we’re going to have to implement this now for 2023,” said Mike Waine of the American Sportfishing Association (ASA).
Waine said this decision by the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board shows a more conservative approach by ASMFC to managing striped bass in the future. “They have clearly indicated that through their action today,” Waine said.
The only advance warning of this decision was in an April 23rd ASMFC memo regarding conservation equivalency and reduction considerations for potential management action and is based on poor recruitment numbers (young of the year) coming from the Chesapeake coupled with 2022 statistics from the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) that indicated that overall angler harvest of striped bass was twice what it should’ve been to rebuild striped bass by 2029.
Individual states will now have until July 2 to comply with the ASMFC mandate of reducing the size of the slot striper regulation to one fish at 28 to 31 inches. More information can be found at asmfc.org.
ASMFC Atlantic Striped Bass Board Acts to Support Stock Rebuilding through Emergency Action and Addendum II Initiation
Arlington, VA – The Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board approved an emergency action to implement a 31-inch maximum size limit for striped bass recreational fisheries, effective immediately for 180 days (through October 28, 2023). This action responds to the unprecedented magnitude of 2022 recreational harvest, which is nearly double that of 2021, and new stock rebuilding projections, which estimate the probability of the spawning stock rebuilding to its biomass target by 2029 drops from 97% under the lower 2021 fishing mortality rate to less than 15% if the higher 2022 fishing mortality rate continues each year.
“Based on concern for the stock and the long-term interests of its stakeholders, the Board acted decisively to protect one of the few remaining strong year classes,” said Board Chair Marty Gary with the Potomac River Fisheries Commission. “The public is concerned about stock rebuilding and has urged the Board to expeditiously respond to the new stock projections. Striped bass is one of the flagship species of the Commission, and this action sends a strong signal that the Board is firmly committed to rebuilding the stock for current and future generations. At the same time, the Board recognizes that this action will have a profound impact on the for-hire industry and recreational anglers, however, it feels it is a necessary step to ensure rebuilding.”