For 2nd year, Chesapeake Bay's striped bass population is down. Regulators will decide if more rules are needed

Striped bass populations in the lower Chesapeake Bay are not doing well, marking the second year in a row for below-average numbers in Virginia waters.

According to a 2024 survey from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, which monitors the success of young bass in the lower Chesapeake Bay, this year was “significantly lower” than the historical average. In Maryland, the Department of Natural Resources reported it saw the sixth consecutive year that young striped bass fell far below the long-term average.

During the Virginia survey, researchers usually get about 7.77 fish per haul, but the latest count had only about 3.43.

Using very large nets, called seines, the survey samples waters from 18 historically sampled sites and 22 auxiliary sites along the shores of the James, York and Rappahannock rivers. Getting an estimate of how many juvenile bass live in the bay help guide annual and long-term trends in bass populations, said Mary Fabrizio, professor at VIMS and director of the study. Data is also used in guiding recreational and commercial fishing regulations.

Allison Colden, Maryland executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said it’s important to protect fish born during the 2015 and 2018 surveys since those were particularly strong years for reproduction.

“The current trajectory of our striped bass population is alarming,” Colden said. “Without continued diligence by (the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission) and proactive conservation by the board, the possibility of rebuilding the striped bass stock will continue to slip further from our reach.”

Now, regulators will decide if more oversight is necessary to meet its 2029 goal of rebuilding the Chesapeake Bay’s striped bass stock to non-overfished status. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will meet again in December to consider further action. It had already determined in October that at least an additional 15% reduction in fishing mortality would be necessary for the stock to have a 50% probability of rebuilding to sustainable levels.

In 2023, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission lowered the maximum allowable size for catches of striped bass from 36 inches to 31 inches to comply with an emergency action by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Then, in January, the Atlantic States commission approved more updates, including a one-fish limit and a size limit in the Chesapeake Bay only allowing fish between 19-24 inches to be kept.

For fisheries along the Atlantic Coast, a one-fish limit and a size limit allows only fish between 28 inches and 31 inches to be kept. The commission also approved a 7% reduction in the commercial harvest quotas.

“Despite recent management actions, striped bass continue to struggle,” said Chris Moore, the Virginia director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. “It is obvious that conditions have changed and striped bass will not have the same recovery they had in the 1980s.

“Warmer water from climate change, habitat loss and invasive species are all making it very hard for striped bass to bounce back.”

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