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I don't think the species is in trouble. The large YOY class from 2 years ago means there are significant fish in the pipeline to "sustain" a fishery.
What is happening is that since this YOY class will soon reach breeding age ASMFC has no reason to protect the remaining large fish. MakoMike would even argue that they are required by law to "utilize" these large fish and be sure they are caught and killed so as to satisfy the "Maximum Sustainable Yield" doctrine.
Since there have been a run of poor year classes most catch and kill fishing effort has been on large fish and that population is disappearing fast. This will only get worse because the ASMFC, driven by a predominance of members who favor continued maximal harvest (both recreational and commercial) over the quality of the recreational fishery, continues to take steps to perpetuate that harvest.
The mandate (and composition) of the ASMFC just does not serve the purposes of those who want a quality fishery (i.e., a widespread population distribution and large fish size). Striped bass management is a compromise and right now the interests of those who benefit from dead fish are prioritized over those who benefit from protecting live fish. Such interests are entrenched and unlikely to change. Once the large fish are gone they will lower size limits to allow harvest of the upcoming 2012YOY class.
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