Striped bass emergency regulations submitted by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to bolster the species’ spawning population were approved today by the Maryland General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review, and are effective immediately. The emergency regulations extend periods of closure to recreational striped bass fishing in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay. Targeting of striped bass will be prohibited from April 1 to May 15, eliminating the Maryland striped bass trophy season. In the Susquehanna Flats, targeting of striped bass is prohibited through the end of May. The Chesapeake Bay is the primary spawning and nursery area for 70% to 90% of the striped bass of the Atlantic coast. The emergency regulation is aimed at protecting the mature fish that travel up the Bay and return to the rivers where they hatched to spawn each spring. Emergency regulations can take effect for 180 days; the state is also pursuing these regulation changes through its standard regulatory process which could create regulations that would remain in place beyond 180 days. These Maryland-specific actions complement additional coast-wide recreational and commercial measures set by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). On January 25, ASMFC approved an addendum to the Interstate […]
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