 |
NOAA Fisheries has posted the updated official estimates of the recreational catch of striped bass to their website. Using this data, we’ve created a graph that displays the recreational catch, both for the entire Atlantic Coast and for Massachusetts only. We’ve singled out Massachusetts because we have filed three bills in this session of the legislature, one of which is a striped bass game fish bill. The recreational catch has fallen by more than 70% since the peak in 2006, and with very few small fish coming into the fishery these numbers will
continue to decline. The population of large older fish that make up the bulk of the current striped bass biomass will continue to provide some fishing opportunities for a few years, but unless regulations change to catch and release only, the already reduced spawning potential of the remaining large fish will be further eroded. Meanwhile the commercial catch is continuing unabated.
| |