I guess Brad Burns now knows more about stripers than the scientists at the ASMFC?
Striped Bass Stock Assessment Indicates Healthy Stock
Total Abundance, Female Spawning Stock Biomass and Recruitment Remain High
Scientific advice presented to the Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board today indicates that striped bass management under Amendment 6 to the Interstate Plan continues to be a success. The resource remains at a high level of abundance at 65.3 million pounds, 10 percent higher than the average stock size for the previous five years. Female spawning stock biomass (SSB) is estimated at 54.8 million pounds and is well above the SSB target and threshold levels of 38.6 and 30.9 million pounds, respectively. Recruitment of young fish (age 1) at 12.7 million is close to the average recruitment observed since the stock was first declared recovered in 1995.
The stock is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring, with 2004 fishing mortality estimated at 0.40, below the Amendment 6 threshold of 0.41. Total catch has risen to 5.2 million fish, a 33 percent increase since implementation of Amendment 6 in 2003. Recreational harvest and discards accounted for 72.5 percent of the total mortality, with the majority of fish harvested by anglers in Virginia, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland and North Carolina. Commercial catch has risen slightly to 1.42 million fish, with Maryland commercial fisheries accounting for half of the harvest.
Based on the advice of the Technical Committee, the Board maintained the states' management programs at status quo. The Technical Committee will continue to monitor the status of the stock and refine stock assessment methodology as necessary. The next peer reviewed stock assessment is scheduled for 2007.
Copies of the stock assessment will be available on the Commission website (
www.asmfc.org under Breaking News) by mid-November. For more information, please contact Lydia Munger, Fisheries Management Plan Coordinator, at (202)289-6400 or <lmunger@asmfc.org>.
Threaded Mode