Photo by Jed Record
With an 18 percent reduction in striped bass mortality called for by East Coast fishery managers to stem population decline, Chesapeake Bay anglers will be limited to just one rockfish a day under new regulations.
There is an exception, however, in Maryland. The state will allow anglers on charter boats to harvest two striped bass per day, while private anglers may only keep one. Maryland also will not close its spring trophy season for striped bass. Instead it has shortened the period for which anglers can target large stripers. The controversy is, large rockfish are the most prolific spawners, and Chesapeake Bay is a major spawning ground for the species.
When the federal mandate came down that mortality must be reduced by 18 percent to halt the decline in striped bass populations, the direction was for all anglers be limited to one fish per day on the Atlantic Coast. States were provided leeway to make their own regulations, as long as mortality by harvest as well as from catch-and-release is reduced by that 18 percent figure.
Maryland’s plans, which also include cracking down on catch-and-release fishing that targets striped bass, have been met with significant criticism.