Once teeming with striped bass, the Chesapeake Bay has now experienced six consecutive years of poor spawning success prompting the consideration of new regulations for anglers in 2025. The region was historically responsible for anywhere from 70% to 90% of the striped bass population on the Atlantic coast, and the fishery today supports both recreation and commercial fishing industries.
Chesapeake Bay striped bass population is found to be unlikely to rebuild without further regulation according to ASMFC
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (AMSFC) is in the process of considering new harvest restrictions for striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay. The 2024 Atlantic Striped Bass Stock Assessment along with recommendations made by the AMSFCโs Technical Committee found that at present, itโs unlikely the striped bass population will rebuild to their target numbers by 2029 without additional restrictions in place to protect the fishery.
The draft plan includes over 40 regulatory options for fisheries, both recreational and commercial, across the Atlantic coast to promote striped bass recovery. In 2019, the ASMFC enacted a number of regulations including setting a ten-year goal for rebuilding the stock by 2029; this goal is presently at risk without additional regulations. Maryland residents can submit a comment by October 3, 2025.
โWeโve relied on half-measures to address striped bass red flags for long enough,โ said Allison Colden, Chesapeake Bay Foundation Maryland Executive Director in a statement. โAll the science we have available is telling us to take action now or risk the long-term viability of this fishery. We must all do our part today if we want striped bass to sustain future generations.โ
Cause of poor spawning success in striped bass remains unclear, but some signs point to warming waters
โStriped bass are on the edge of being in trouble,โ aquatic conservation biologist John Waldman told Outdoor Life. The number of large-sized striped bass in the population has already dwindled; Waldman shared that anglers can likely expect the numbers of medium-sized striped bass to face a similar decline.
This isnโt the first time the striped bass population has faced decline.
In the 1980s, the striped bass population in the Chesapeake Bay nearly collapsed completely after record high catches. In response, the federal government imposed a fishing moratorium on striped bass in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. The population rebounded, but in 2019 it was found that the population was again in jeopardy.
While in the past the cause of the dwindling striped bass population was clear, presently the reasons remain murky. Theories include overfishing, an increase in dead discards from angler handling, decrease in suitable spawning habitat, decrease in abundance of food and warming waters, or some interconnected combination of these factors.
Some scientists suggested in an Yale Environment 360 article that the strain on the striped bass population could be due to phenological mismatch, when the seasonal timing of lifecycle events like spawning and migration falls out of sync due to environmental changes. Striped bass appear to be responding to shifts in the abundance of menhaden, a critical food source for the bass. With waters warming, both species appear to be impacted and beyond this throughout the ocean predators and prey seem to be falling out of sync. Still, menhaden is not the only food source for striped bass, and scientists cautioned that there has been limited analysis on phenological mismatch in marine environments.
Whatever the cause of the decrease in striped bass population, Waldman suggests that the best course of action to preserve the striped bass population for the future is to limit striped bass removal.
“It would be better to restrict this as much as possible until we turn it around,โ Waldman told Outdoor Life.
Feature Image: Timothy Knepp | Wikimedia commons
