ASMFC 2024 Spring Meeting Summary

A quick note before we get started with a summary. As we have done in the past, we provided live updates from the meeting through our Instagram stories (@stripersforever). If you are unable to attend a meeting it is a great way to stay up to date both during and after the meeting. Instagram is a great tool for connecting us with our supporters, we encourage everyone to give us a follow and to tune into our stories during future ASMFC meetings. 

Last Wednesday, May 1, 2024, the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board met during the ASMFC 2024 Spring Meeting. Below is a quick summary of the four major items that were addressed at the meeting. Following that you will find the ASMFC meeting summary, motions and all additional links.

Revised Addendum II State Implementation Plans

Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Potomac River Fisheries Commission (PRFC) all submitted revised implementation plans for Addendum II. Things were fairly straight forward for PA and PRFC, the same cannot be said for Maryland, what a surprise. If you remember, during the March meeting, Maryland dug deep to come up with every possible reason for why they could not comply on the commercial side. It was a weak argument and the rest of the board was not having it. Well, this time around, the board gave in and let Maryland off the hook despite saying essentially the same thing. Maryland will not make any adjustments to their 2024 commercial quota. Instead they will monitor 2024 commercial landings by using a complex system of check stations (33 in total) throughout the state. That will monitor, on a weekly basis, the total catch through December 1st of 2024. For the month of December, a projection of total catch will be made. Those numbers will then be combined to determine the total 2024 commercial harvest. If at that point, the total 2024 commercial harvest exceeds the Addendum II allowable quota, then the 2025 commercial quota will be adjusted accordingly.

But it doesn’t end there. Because all of that will be happening at the end of the 2024 calendar year, adjustments to the commercial quota for 2025 may not be possible or may stretch into 2026. The commercial season in Maryland begins much earlier than it does in the northern states. So, Maryland is already setting things up for no actual reduction or payback of commercial quota until 2025-26. Considering the circumstances, this seems somewhat unbelievable but the board did approve these revised implementation plans. Allowing Maryland to do this seemed in some ways a show of good faith by the rest of the board. The unfortunate truth is that we have a 2029 deadline for rebuilding and we need to reduce mortality now, not in 2025 or 2026.

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries – Recreational Release Mortality Study

Lots of interesting info coming out of the MA DMF Terminal Tackle Research Study. While the study is ongoing, preliminary data suggests that fishing methods and tackle types do have unique correlation to mortality. While the average mortality figure for released fish remained around 9%, individual tackle types showed a much different story. Single hook fly being the lowest overall chance of mortality at 3.3%. Lures with two trebles and dead bait produce the highest mortality, 8.1% and 6.8% respectively.

There was also some interesting info revealed in regards to circle vs J hooks. Perhaps the wide gap ‘octopus’ circle hooks are not doing as much good as we had hoped. The circle hooks in the original Caruso study had a much narrower 11mm gap. This study looked at the current popular model circle hooks which have a 19mm gap. Taking many variables into consideration, the mortality estimates showed that popular circle hook models did not reduce mortality. This information will certainly give the work group something to discuss.

The study had nearly 700 anglers sign up to participate and 882 trips and 3.580 fish in total were reported. The citizen science portion of the study will hopefully be extended into other states so water temps can be factored in and also so the study can have a broader collection of data.

If you would like to participate in the citizen science portion of the study please visit the MA DMF website to sign up: https://www.mass.gov/forms/become-a-dmf-citizen-scientist-for-striped-bass-conservation

Board Work Group To Discuss Release Mortality

The last portion of the meeting was spent forming a board work group to further discuss and integrate release mortality into the FMP (fisheries management plan). This group will focus on two areas to reduce recreational release mortality. Gear restrictions to increase the chance of survival after a striped bass is released and effort controls. The later would most likely be via seasonal closures, either no-target or no-harvest. All of this will be very important following the next stock assessment which is expected to be released in the fall of 2024. The board will need use these management tools to react and update the FMP with the goal of staying on track for a 2029 rebuild of the stock.

Striped Bass Advisory Panel & Vice-Chair

Peter Jenkins, owner of the Saltwater Edge in RI was approved to join the Atlantic Striped Bass Advisory Panel. Peter is not only a great person but also has been engaged in recreational angling for 50 years, has been a tackle shop owner for 30 years and more recently has been Chair of the American Saltwater Guides Association (ASGA) for the past 3 years. It’s fantastic news and we congratulate Peter on this appointment. Having a level headed and intelligent conservationist on the advisory panel means a lot for the future of striped bass.

Lastly, the board elected Chris Batsavage from North Carolina as Vice Chair of the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board.

From the ASMFC:

ATLANTIC STRIPED BASS MANAGEMENT BOARD (MAY 1, 2024)

Meeting Summary:

The Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board met to consider revisions to Addendum II state implementation plans; receive an update on recreational release mortality study results; consider tasks for a Board Work Group on recreational release mortality; consider an Advisory Panel nomination; and elect a Vice Chair.

Three jurisdictions, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Potomac River Fisheries Commission (PRFC) submitted revised state implementation plans for Addendum II. States are required to implement Addendum II measures by May 1, 2024. In March 2024, the Board approved Addendum II state implementation plans with the following exceptions: 1) Pennsylvania’s proposed timeline for implementing its new spring slot and bag limit; 2) Maryland and PRFC’s proposed timeline for paying back any potential 2024 commercial quota overage. Pennsylvania’s revised implementation plan specifies that it has implemented its new spring slot and bag limit as of May 1, 2024. Maryland and PRFC’s revised implementation plans specify that they will monitor 2024 commercial landings and develop projections as needed to estimate whether landings will exceed the 2024 quota to inform 2025 commercial tag and permit distribution. The Board approved the revised implementation plans for all three jurisdictions.

The Board received an overview of a Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MA DMF) study to characterize striped bass recreational release mortality. The first phase of the study focused on the efficacy of circle hooks and comparing release mortality from J-hooks vs. circle hooks. The second phase of the study focused on comparison of release injury and mortality across various terminal tackle using citizen science data collected by striped bass anglers. Data collection for this phase will continue into 2024 with recruitment of citizen participants from other states. The third phase of the study will focus on a survey of striped bass anglers on terminal tackle use over the next few years. MA DMF noted that additional analysis of collected data and future publication will be pursued in the coming years. Visit https://madmf.shinyapps.io/striper/ for more information.

The Board discussed the establishment of a Board Work Group to discuss release mortality. The Board approved four tasks for the Work Group with an expected progress update from the Work Group at the 2024 Summer Meeting, and a report to the Board at the 2024 Annual Meeting. The first Work Group task is to review existing no-targeting closures (state and federal waters), including any information on impacts to striped bass catch, effort, enforceability, and how anglers may respond to no-targeting closures (i.e., shifting effort). The second task is to review the MA DMF release mortality study and other relevant reports to evaluate the efficacy of potential gear modifications. The third task is to identify stock assessment sensitivity runs to potentially inform Board discussion of release mortality as well as tradeoffs of reducing the release mortality rate vs. reducing the number of releases overall. The fourth task is to consider public scoping (e.g., survey) on potential measures to address release mortality.

The Board approved the nomination of Peter Jenkins, a recreational angler from Rhode Island, to the Atlantic Striped Bass Advisory Panel. Finally, the Board elected Chris Batsavage from North Carolina as Vice Chair.

For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at efranke@asmfc.org.

Motions:

Move to approve the revised Addendum II implementation plans for Pennsylvania, Potomac River Fisheries Commission, and Maryland. Motion made by Mr. Armstrong and seconded by Mr. Luisi. Motion passes by unanimous consent.

Move to approve the tasks for the Board Work Group on recreational release mortality as discussed today. Motion made by Mr. Hasbrouck and seconded by Mr. Luisi. Motion passes by unanimous consent.

Move to approve Peter Jenkins of Rhode Island to the Atlantic Striped Bass Advisory Panel. Motion made by Dr. McNamee and seconded by Dr. Davis. Motion passes by unanimous consent.

Move to elect Chris Batsavage as Vice-Chair of the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board. Motion made by Mr. Gary and seconded by Mr. Geer. Motion passes by unanimous consent.

The 2024 ASMFC Spring Meeting summary can also be found at: http://asmfc.org/files/2024SpringMeeting/2024SpringMeetingSummary.pdf

For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at efranke@asmfc.org

ADDITIONAL LINKS

• ASMFC 2024 Spring Meeting – Atlantic Striped Bass Board: Presentations (PDF)
• ASMFC 2024 Spring Meeting – Atlantic Striped Bass Board: Meeting Recording Audio/Video (YouTube)
• ASMFC 2024 Spring Meeting Summary: 2024 Spring Meeting Summary (PDF)