Each year since 1985, the NYSDEC has recorded a Young of Year (YOY) Striped Bass Abundance survey using equipment including a 500-foot haul seine net and electrofishing practices in the Hudson River. The study takes place between April and June when striped bass are heading upstream toward fresh water on their annual spawning migration. During this time, there should be more striped bass in the Hudson River than during any other time of the year, providing fisheries biologists with the most accurate judgements of striped bass abundance.
But, after another year of poor recruitment from the Chesapeake Bay stock of striped bass, anglers up and down the coast hoped for good news from the Hudson River YOY survey. Unfortunately, the most recent YOY abundance index for Hudson River striped bass recorded more low numbers. Based on the chart shown below, this is the lowest number of striped bass recorded per haul since 1985, when annual YOY surveys were first implemented for Hudson River stripers.
This year, the haul numbers of Hudson River stripers were considerably lower than the year prior, leaving anglers hopeful that a cold winter with lots of precipitation and snowmelt will provide ideal spring spawning conditions.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) is aiming to rebuild the coastal stock of striped bass by 2029, but to do so, further adjustments to striped bass fishing regulations are in order. Draft Addendum II of Amendment 7—which aims to address overfishing while providing solutions to rebuild—offers several potential courses of action to help achieve the rebuilding goal by 2029. Some of those courses of action consider reallocation of commercial striped bass quotas, adjustments to the existing recreational slot limit (28-31 inches) and implementing recreational seasons, among other management measures that will help to reduce release mortality.
Anglers looking to help Hudson River stripers on an individual level can:
