Maryland DNR Discusses Striped Bass Regulations

Photo Courtesy of Maryland Department of Natural Resources

(CHESAPEAKE BAY, Md) – Some new protections are going into effect today that could impact Eastern Shore anglers.

“The month of August will be closed to recreationally targeting striped bass. And that closure in August was intended to protect what we have as what we have left,” says Maryland Department of Natural Resources Director of Tidal & Coastal Management, Michael Luisi.

This is due to lower recruitment numbers for striped bass to spawn over the last few years.

According to the DNR, striped bass caught in August and released are 25% more likely to die.

There are multiple factors during the summer months that keep the species from staying at a sustainable population level.

Dr. Allison Colden with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation tells WMDT, “The Chesapeake Bay, particularly because it gets very warm in the summer and is a very shallow estuary, can be a very stressful habitat for striped bass. We also have the challenges of low oxygen or hypoxia in the summertime. So they experience what’s called ‘habitat squeeze'”

And those factors are why the DNR has increased the break. From two weeks in July to the entire month of August.

Luisi tells us, “If you catch a fish this time of the year is a lot less than if you catch a fish in the summer when the water when the water temperature. The water quality is much less conducive to the fishes survival.”

Given the Chesapeake Bay’s importance for the striped bass, having this new regulation in place is going to cut down on the number of fish that die at the surface.

“Maryland is the epicenter of striped bass reproduction all along the Atlantic coast. More than 70% of every striped bass is spawned here in the Maryland waters of the Chesapeake Bay. And unfortunately, for the past seven consecutive years, we have seen historic low levels,” says Dr. Colden.

The Maryland fishing season runs through December.