How Should We Value Striped Bass?

"A good gamefish is too valuable to be caught only once." - Lee Wulff

When the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission put forth striped bass management proposals based on declining stocks, anglers came out overwhelmingly in favor of a one fish bag limit with a minimum size of between 28 and 32 inches.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum.

In New York those proposed cuts were watered done by tone deaf MRAC members on behalf of party boat operators.

Chares Witek lays out the conflicts of interest that are at play and asks the question, how do we value striped bass?

The various recreational fishing trade groups that like to pride themselves on the economic engine their members provide should be listening to folks like Charles Witek when it comes to fighting on behalf of striped bass.

Not as an icon that can never be killed, and not at two dollars a pound. 

Instead, it must be valued for what it is, the region’s iconic gamefish, which will always be worth more alive on the water than dead on the dock.

LINK

Stripers Forever 2014 Survey Results

Stripers Forever has released the results of their 2014 Annual Angler Survey.

LINK

The complete 20 page PDF of the survey.

Chesapeake Bay Striper Young of the Year Reproduction at Record Low

Stiripers Forever shares some very disturbing news.

Maryland officials have released information on the 2012 Young of the Year count for striped bass, and it is very bad.

Maryland officials blame the poor results on weather, and they say that there are normal ups and downs in the process. However if you look at the graph that appears in the link, and study the statistics a bit, you will see that spawning success over the last 5 to 10 years is about half of what it was during the 1990s before the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission allowed the commercial catch to return to levels reached prior to the crash of the 70s.

This LINK will take you to the full report on the MD DNR website.