ASMFC 81st Annual Meeting (10/18/23) & Chesapeake Bay 2023 YOY Report
ASMFC 81st Annual Meeting of the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board
To register for the live webinar please go here: ASMFC 81st Annual Meeting- Striped Bass Management Board (GoToMeeting Webinar ID: 807-430-387)
ADDITIONAL LINKS
- Atlantic Striped Bass Board- Draft Agenda/ Meeting Overview/ Main Meeting Materials
- Atlantic Striped Bass Board- Supplemental Materials
- Atlantic Striped Bass Board- Supplemental Materials 2
Maryland Chesapeake Bay 2023 YOY (young-of-year) Survey Results
Unfortunately the Maryland DNR 2023 young-of-year survey has brought more bad news to the table. The juvenile Striped Bass index is dangerously low for a fifth consecutive year. The 2023 young-of-year index is 1.0, well below the long-term average of 11.1 and the second-worst spawn on record. It is very concerning that the Chesapeake commercial quota has seen no reduction. Between Menhaden and Striped Bass, the bay is being sucked dry of all life. The DNR is placing the blame on environmental factors, we don’t disagree with the possibility of that. But if that is true, we need to adjust management of the fishery to offset those factors as fixing those environmental issues is a much longer process. Let’s hope this news does some in good in the way of encouraging the ASMFC board to get a handle on commercial quota in the bay and also keep more conservation minded options in draft Addendum II.
