Charles Witek, a fisheries consultant who actually fishes, has a good handle on the pulse as to what's going on. He published the item below on what changes we could be seeing in Striped Bass management come the 2023 season. Likely Bad News - yes, there will additional restrictions. Good News - the Likely Bad News isn't as bad as some predicted.
Regardless, it's all a "work in progress", but we'll see what happens during the official release of the population survey come October...
Entire post from Charles is here: https://oneanglersvoyage.blogspot.com/2022/08/encouraging-news-for-striped-bass.html
Here's the initial part of the blog post:
Striped bass are overfished, and a rebuilding plan is long overdue. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s adoption of Amendment 7 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass seems to have lifted the final roadblock to putting a rebuilding plan in place; the new amendment authorizes the ASMFC’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board to fast-track such plan’s adoption, without the need for public hearings and similar process, if an upcoming stock assessment update indicates that such action is needed.
The assessment update won’t be completed until October, but preliminary information is currently being developed. Last Wednesday, the ASMFC’s Atlantic Striped Bass Technical Committee held its first meeting to review the data that has been developed so far. While I wasn’t able to listen in, a few folks who did briefed me on what occurred, and the news so far seems good: There will be a fast-tracked rebuilding plan, and rebuilding by 2029 appears to be feasible.
Although both those outcomes were more or less expected, neither had been certain prior to last Wednesday’s meeting. Amendment 7 only authorizes the Management Board to fast-track the rebuilding plan if the stock assessment update indicates that there is at least a 50% chance that the stock won’t rebuild by 2029 under the current management measures, and that a fishing mortality reduction of at least 5% will be needed to achieve rebuilding by that deadline. While just about everyone familiar with the fishery assumed that both of those criteria would be met, data can sometimes surprise us; however, the data reviewed at the recent meeting suggested that, in order to rebuild by 2029, fishing mortality would have to be reduced by approximately 25%.
Thus, the two criteria for fast-tracking rebuilding appear to have been met.
A 25% reduction in fishing mortality is not an insignificant cut. However, it is a reduction that managers should be able to achieve by traditional management means, such as adjusting the current slot limit, perhaps adding a no-harvest season, and reducing commercial quotas. Thus, rebuilding by the 2029 deadline is very doable, and it can be achieved without the imposition of extreme management measures, such as the harvest moratorium that has frequently been discussed within the striped bass fishing community.
Regardless, it's all a "work in progress", but we'll see what happens during the official release of the population survey come October...
Entire post from Charles is here: https://oneanglersvoyage.blogspot.com/2022/08/encouraging-news-for-striped-bass.html
Here's the initial part of the blog post:
ENCOURAGING NEWS FOR STRIPED BASS
Striped bass are overfished, and a rebuilding plan is long overdue. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s adoption of Amendment 7 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass seems to have lifted the final roadblock to putting a rebuilding plan in place; the new amendment authorizes the ASMFC’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board to fast-track such plan’s adoption, without the need for public hearings and similar process, if an upcoming stock assessment update indicates that such action is needed.
The assessment update won’t be completed until October, but preliminary information is currently being developed. Last Wednesday, the ASMFC’s Atlantic Striped Bass Technical Committee held its first meeting to review the data that has been developed so far. While I wasn’t able to listen in, a few folks who did briefed me on what occurred, and the news so far seems good: There will be a fast-tracked rebuilding plan, and rebuilding by 2029 appears to be feasible.
Although both those outcomes were more or less expected, neither had been certain prior to last Wednesday’s meeting. Amendment 7 only authorizes the Management Board to fast-track the rebuilding plan if the stock assessment update indicates that there is at least a 50% chance that the stock won’t rebuild by 2029 under the current management measures, and that a fishing mortality reduction of at least 5% will be needed to achieve rebuilding by that deadline. While just about everyone familiar with the fishery assumed that both of those criteria would be met, data can sometimes surprise us; however, the data reviewed at the recent meeting suggested that, in order to rebuild by 2029, fishing mortality would have to be reduced by approximately 25%.
Thus, the two criteria for fast-tracking rebuilding appear to have been met.
A 25% reduction in fishing mortality is not an insignificant cut. However, it is a reduction that managers should be able to achieve by traditional management means, such as adjusting the current slot limit, perhaps adding a no-harvest season, and reducing commercial quotas. Thus, rebuilding by the 2029 deadline is very doable, and it can be achieved without the imposition of extreme management measures, such as the harvest moratorium that has frequently been discussed within the striped bass fishing community.
