![]() Striped Bass — 2016Atlantic Ocean Migratory Stock Stock Status – Viable –The 2015 Atlantic Striped Bass Stock Assessment Update utilizes catch and index data from 1982- 2014. 2015 Commercial Landings and Value – 0 lbs./$0.00 (quota managed) Average Recreational Landings 2006-2015 – 796,641 lbs., 2015 – 0 lbs. Average Number of Award Citations (35 lbs. /45 inches^) 2006-2015– 159 (releases – 21), 2015 – 0 (releases – 0) (Includes ASMA, CSMA, and the Atlantic Ocean) 2015 Regulations – Commercial: The annual commercial quota is set at 360,360 lbs. Bag limits are set based on number of participants. The seasons are opened and closed by proclamation. Recreational: 28 inches total length (TL) minimum size limit, 1 fish daily creel limit. Reporting requirement for all fish recreationally harvested during May through October, from Ocracoke Inlet to Virginia state line. No reporting required south of Ocracoke Inlet. Harvest Season – Opened and closed by proclamation for commercial. Open year round for recreational. Size and Age at Maturity – Males: 12–22 inches/2–4 years; Females: 22–28 inches/5–8 years. Historical and Current Maximum Age – 35 years/35 years. Juvenile Abundance Index 2006–2015 – Maine – 0.46; Hudson River – 18.04; Delaware River – 1.18; Chesapeake Bay Maryland – 4.28; Chesapeake Bay Virginia – 11.15, 2015 Maine – 0.04 Hudson River – 21.68; Delaware River – 0.94; Chesapeake Bay Maryland – 10.67; Chesapeake Bay Virginia – 12.00. Habits and Habitats – Striped bass are an estuarine species that can be found from Florida to Canada, although the stocks that the ASMFC manages range from Maine to North Carolina. A long-lived species (at least up to 30 years of age), Atlantic migratory striped bass typically spend the majority of their adult life in coastal estuaries or the ocean, migrating north and south seasonally and ascending to rivers to spawn in the spring. Mature females (age six and older) produce large quantities of eggs, which are fertilized by mature males (age two and older) as they are released into riverine spawning areas. While developing, the fertilized eggs drift with the downstream currents and eventually hatch into larvae. After their arrival in the nursery areas, located in river deltas and the inland portions of coastal sounds and estuaries, they mature into juveniles. They remain in coastal sounds and estuaries for two to four years and then join the coastal migratory population in the Atlantic Ocean. In the ocean, fish tend to move north during the summer and south during the winter. Important wintering grounds for the mixed stocks are located from offshore New Jersey to North Carolina. In some years, they may not migrate all the way down into North Carolina waters, or they may be more than 3 miles offshore and unavailable to harvest, as has been the case since 2012. With warming water temperatures in the spring, the mature adult fish migrate to riverine spawning areas to complete their life cycle. The majority of the coastal migratory stock originates in the Chesapeake Bay spawning areas, with significant contributions from the spawning grounds of the Hudson and Delaware Rivers. The Albemarle/Roanoke stock contributes minimally to the coastal migratory stock. For more information, contact Charlton Godwin at Charlton.Godwin@ncdenr.gov or 800-338-7805 or 252-264–3911. |