Striped bass still overfished, new measures on the way

Striped bass have been under a rebuilding plan since 2019. Although some of the conservation measures taken since then are working the most recent 2024 stock assessment update conducted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) found the resource remains overfished with a less than 50% chance of rebuilding the stock by 2029 as planned.

The stock is not experiencing overfishing, but it remains overfished relative to the updated biological reference points. Thus, the rebuilding plan will not meet its goal unless new measures are taken to rebuild the stock. Low recruitment and the lack of strong year-classes to supply the fish were noted as key challenges.

Based on these projections, a special meeting will be held on Dec. 16 to consider Striped Bass Management Board action to change 2025 management measures to reduce fishing mortality and increase the probability of rebuilding to at least 50%. This may translate to new, more restrictive regulations for 2025.

In Massachusetts, before the Management Board meeting occurs on Dec. 16, there will be an informational webinar (register here) for the public on Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. to review the technical report. While public comment will not be accepted during the informational online seminar, written public comment on the technical report and management options is encouraged.

In Rhode Island the Division of Marine Fisheries will hold an informational workshop on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, at 6 p.m. at the URI Bay Campus/GSO, Corless Auditorium, 215 South Ferry Road, Narragansett. The meeting can be joined online via Zoom here, Meeting ID: 867 3000 3561, Passcode: 685078, Dial in #: 1-929-205-6099 (listen only).

In a media advisory Nicole Lengyel Costa of the RI Division of Marine Fisheries shared the below helpful meeting timeline on striped bass hearings. Ms. Costa is also available for questions and can be reached at nicole.lengyel@dem.ri.gov or 401/423-1940.

Tuesday, Dec. 3 – Technical Committee (TC) report posted here [asmfc.org].
Thursday, Dec. 5 – ASMFC Public Informational Webinar [asmfc.org] at 6 PM to review TC report.
Thursday, Dec. 5 – MA Online Informational Workshop at 6 p.m. (see above)
Monday, Dec. 9 – ASMFC Advisory Panel webinar [asmfc.org] meeting at 4:30 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 9 – RIDEM Informational Workshop (in-person/virtual) at 6 p.m. (see above)
Tuesday, Dec. 10 – Deadline for ASMFC written comments (comments@asmfc.org) at 11:59 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 16 – ASMFC Striped Bass Board Meeting [asmfc.org] (in-person/virtual) at 10 a.m.

The deadline for submitting a written public comment for the Management Board’s consideration is Dec. 10. Per the Management Board’s request, the technical report is expected to focus on management options that include changes to the recreational size limits or seasons and commercial quotas.

Where’s the bite?

Striped bass, bluefish, bonito. Ed Lombardo, fly fishing expert and guide, said, “I caught a 35.8 pound , 43.5” striped bass last week along with five smaller bass and a good number of shad. Fished the outgoing tide from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. on the Narrow River in Narragansett. This is the first time many shad have been in Narrow River all season. The river looks much more promising going forward! Not much small bait showing but for these shad.” Declan O’Donnell of Breachway Bait & Tackle, Charlestown, said, “This past week a lot of small bait has been around from sand eels to various rain baits and anchovies. Shad, striper and bluefish continue to stick around and feed. Big fish have been coming into Ninigret pond amongst a lot of really small fish. By that I mean 10-18 inch fish. Bonito and mackerel are still out front especially around Block Island. The water is still warm, reports of water mostly 58-59 degrees.” Todd Corayer, expert kayak striped bass angler and Fishwrap blog author said, “The striper bite remains strong in our salt ponds. Water temp was 46 degrees Saturday, and the bass were all over schools of pretty fast-moving bait. I never did get to see what the bait species was but there were plenty of bass. The bite stopped on a dime thirty minutes after sunrise. Pretty wild stuff for November.” “The striped bass bite has slowed with some small fish being caught in the surf and wash, however, we still have a good Bonito bite here. And further south at Sandy Hook, New Jersey surf anglers were shoulder to shoulder catching striped bass this weekend with a lot of fish and a lot of Atlantic menhaden in the water. So I would say fish have moved out of our region for the most part,” said Matt Conit of Snug Harbor Marina, South Kingstown.

Tautog. “Tautog fishing has still been good. You can even have a chance at Cod this time of year especially if you are fishing deeper water, with some bigger fish coming out of the bay,” said Declan O’Donnell of Breachway Bait & Tackle. Matt Conti said, “With the moon tides this weekend tautog fishing was off a bit for the party boats at our dock, however, the fishing is still very good. Prior to that anglers were catching their limit with good sized fish. Angler Greg Spier reports, “Had to switch to 6-8 oz weights as the tide and current picked up when fishing off Newport this weekend. Back at dock by noontime as the seas picked up with our limit of ten tautog, the largest was 19 inches. No keeper black sea bass.”

Bluefin tuna. We still nave bluefin tuna in the area. Matt Conti of Snug Harbor Marina, said, “One of our customers is out there now (West fishing grounds off Block Island on Sunday) targeting bluefin. We had reports of fish being caught earlier today and yesterday (Saturday) four fish in the 40” range were caught while anglers were targeting cod. They switched off and caught bluefin. Amazing!”

Freshwater fishing. Anglers are still catching trout from fall stockings and largemouth bass. Trout stocking locations in Massachusetts are updated daily, visit Trout stocking report | Mass.gov for an interactive map. Visit www.dem.ri.gov/fishing for ponds stocked in RI. This weekend when kayaking on Beach Pond (in Exeter and Voluntown, CT) I spoke with anglers that were catching both largemouth bass and trout using shiners.

Dave Monti holds a master captain’s license and charter fishing license. He serves on a variety of boards and commissions and has a consulting business focusing on clean oceans, habitat preservation, conservation, renewable energy, and fisheries related issues and clients. Forward fishing news and photos to dmontifish@verison.net or visit www.noflukefishing.com.