Striped Bass On The Decline

By: Fisheries Advisory Committee

Striped Bass are in trouble.  For the last seven years, Striped Bass reproduction has been historically low.  What has been a robust fishery – for both commercial and recreational anglers – is on the brink of collapse.  In response, the WRWA has formed a Fisheries Advisory Committee to explore ways to conserve Striped Bass in the Westport River; doing our part locally to help solve a regional crisis and potentially creating a model for other estuaries along the northeastern seaboard.

Striped Bass are the most popular gamefish in the eastern US.  In 2017, recreational anglers made nearly 18 million trips to fish for stripers.  Striped Bass are also a popular table fare.  In 2024, commercial landings of Striped Bass approached 4 million pounds.  It is estimated that the combined annual economic impact of the recreational and commercial Striped Bass fishery exceeds $7 billion and supports more than 100,000 jobs in coastal communities.

The vast majority of the Striped Bass on the east coast of the US are born in one of just three waterways: the Chesapeake Bay, the Delaware Bay, and the Hudson River.  When they are 2-4 years of age, Striped Bass begin an annual cycle of migration to distant summer feeding grounds everywhere from North Carolina to Maine.  Migratory Striped Bass typically arrive in the Westport River around May 1st.  In the fall, Striped Bass leave their summer homes and return to their spawning grounds to spend the winter and spawn again in the spring.

Since the early 1980s, the rate of spawning success has been measured and tracked by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), a federal regulatory body comprised of representatives from all the mid-Atlantic and northeastern states.  Following some very successful years of reproduction in 2015 and 2018, Striped Bass have had seven straight years of bad spawns – among the lowest reproduction rates ever measured.  No one knows why.  The success of each annual spawning event depends on many factors including weather, food sources, environmental conditions, and predation.  It also depends – crucially – on the size of the population of breeding-age fish.

To manage the Striped Bass stock toward sustainability, the ASMFC establishes regulations designed to protect breeding-age fish.  In the past, these regulations have included limits on the size and number of fish that recreational anglers can keep; it has included limits on the total pounds of Striped Bass commercial fishermen can harvest; and it has included – in extreme situations – a ban on any anglers keeping any Striped Bass of any size: a “moratorium.”  Advocates for the Striped Bass fishery believe we are headed toward such a moratorium.

Under the mantra of “think globally, act locally” the WRWA formed a Fisheries Advisory Committee to explore ideas for the conservation of Striped Bass in the Westport River – whether they are “summer residents” or “just passing through.”  Initial initiatives include:

• Promoting ‘Catch-and-Release’ fishing in the Westport River.

  • Any Striped Bass that is caught by an angler and then released back to the water has a chance to return to its spawning grounds next winter and produce more Striped Bass next spring.  Taking a Striped Bass home today reduces the current stock by one fish; but it may reduce the future stock of Striped Bass by many fish.  We need all the breeding-age fish we can get.

• Promoting ‘Legal’ fishing in the Westport River.

  • For any angler who still wishes to take home a striper, it is important that they follow the law.  Current regulations allow one Striped Bass per day per angler, between 28 and 31 inches long.  This “slot limit” was created to protect smaller fish (our immediate future) and larger fish (who produce large amounts of high-quality eggs).

• ‘Tagging’ Striped Bass in the Westport River.

  • Modeled after a successful program at Woods Hole, a sample number of Striped Bass caught in the Westport River will be outfitted with an acoustic tag that “pings” receivers installed in multiple locations in the river.  This will help us learn more about when Striped Bass enter and leave the Westport River, and what parts of the river they inhabit while they’re here.  Similar receivers installed by other organizations up and down the east coast can track our “Westport River” stripers as they journey further north, or journey back to their southern spawning grounds.  As we learn more about the habits of the Striped Bass that frequent our river, we can explore ways to support them while they’re here.

The Westport River is the largest tidal estuary between Long Island and Cape Cod.  It is home to a significant population of Striped Bass and an avid community of anglers who fish for them.  The WRWA hopes to bring local attention to the challenges facing all Striped Bass, and promote ways we can conserve “our” Striped Bass while they’re here.  By encouraging a local culture of Striped Bass conservation, while learning more about the behavior of Striped Bass in the Westport River, we hope to be a model for other estuaries up and down the “Striper Coast.”