Stripers - Healthy Stock, Total Abundance, High Recruitment
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Scientific evidence presented to ASMFC's Striped Bass Management Board indicates that management under Amend.6 of the Striped Bass Management Plan continues to be a success. The virtual population analysis(VPA) estimates the resource remains at a high level of abundance at 65.3 million fish, 10% higher than the average stock size for the past five years. Female spawning stock biomass is estimated at 55 million pounds which is well above the target and threshold levels of 38.6 and 30.9 million pounds.
Recruitment of young fish (age 1) at 12.7 million is very close to the average recruitment observed since the stocks were declared recovered in 1995. Expanded tagging studies estimate that striped bass abundance may actually be higher than the VPA estimates.
The stock is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring with 2004 fishing mortality below the amendment threshold of 0.41. Total catch has risen to 5.2 million fish, a 33% increase since implementation of the amendment in 2003. Recreational harvest and discards accounted for 72.5 % of the total mortality, with the majority of the harvest made by anglers in Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts and North Carolina. Commercial catch/discards has risen slightly to 1.42 million fish with Maryland commercial fisheries accounting for half the harvest.
Based on the advice of the scientists of the Technical Committee, the Board has ok'd maintaining the state's current management programs. scientists will continue to monitor the stock and refine stock assessment methodology as necessary. The next peer-reviewed stock assessment is scheduled for 2007.
The complete stock assessment is available on the Commission web site at:
www.asmfc.org.
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