November 9, 2012 — Juvenile striped bass, or rockfish, made a poor showing in Virginia waters this year, but researchers said it's likely only a natural variability in recruitment and no cause for alarm.
In fact, said scientists at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) in Gloucester Point, the drop in this year's annual survey comes on the heels of an "exceptionally strong" recruitment last year.
"A single poor year of recruitment like we saw this year can be weathered by the previous year's high production," said Mary Fabrizio, survey director. "It would take three continuous years of poor recruitment to trigger management actions to identify and address issues of striped bass spawning success."
Recruitment is the number of young fish entering a population. According to VIMS, the 2012 year class represents fish hatched last spring, which will grow to fishable size in about three years.
Surveyors recorded fewer than three juvenile striped bass per seine net haul this year compared to the annual average of seven per haul.
Striped bass are considered a key species in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, both for commercial fishermen and recreational anglers. They also play an important role in the ecosystem as a top predator.
They were overfished to historic lows in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which spurred fishing bans in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.
Today, the bay's population of striped bass has increased to the point they're now considered recovered.
Read the full story at the Newport News Daily Press