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VMRC scientist: striped bass remains overfished; ASMFC to seek rapid options to rebuild by 2029
Summary
VMRC stock-assessment scientist Brooke Lohman told the Fisheries Management Advisory Committee that female spawning biomass remains below the threshold and recruitment has been weak; the ASMFC Board has asked the Technical Committee to develop options to reach a 50% rebuilding probability by 2029 and will hold a public webinar Dec. 5.
Brooke Lohman, a stock-assessment scientist with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, told the Fisheries Management Advisory Committee that the Atlantic striped bass population remains below the biological threshold used to define an "overfished" stock and that recruitment has been below average for six of the past seven years. "The population is still below the threshold level," she said, adding that fishing mortality is above the target but below the threshold, so "overfishing is not occurring."
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Technical Committee and management board are moving quickly because the stock is in a rebuilding plan. Lohman said the ASMFC Board has directed the Technical Committee to craft management options that would give a 50% probability of rebuilding the stock by 2029, a milestone tied to the Magnuson-Stevens Act requirement for depleted stocks. "The Board tasked the TC to develop some options to achieve a 50% probability of rebuilding by 2029," she said.
Why it matters: fisheries managers across the coast set seasons, size limits and quotas that affect commercial and recreational catch, and the ASMFC has the authority to require changes to reach rebuilding goals. Lohman warned that the board could consider shortening recreational seasons, changing size limits or reducing commercial quotas to meet the rebuilding probability. She emphasized the speed of the timeline and the limited public process available under the ASMFC "board action" pathway for rebuilding-plan stocks.
The ASMFC schedule Lohman cited: the Technical Committee meets Nov. 13 to finalize options, ASMFC staff will hold a public information webinar on Dec. 5, an advisory panel meets Dec. 9 and written public comments to ASMFC are due Dec. 10 at 11:59 p.m. States then plan to update their regulations to match any ASMFC decisions early next year. Lohman noted that the Commission can post informational material and encourage public participation, but final decisions on coastwide measures will be taken by ASMFC, not the Virginia commission.
Questions from committee members and the public addressed recruitment patterns, how year classes move through the population, and the assumptions used for projecting removals in 2025 and 2026. Lohman said recent low removals in 2024, a strong 2018 year class now entering the fishery and low recruitment since then produce a pattern she described as "lower in 2024, higher in 2025, then decreasing in 2026 if nothing else changes." She urged stakeholders to watch the ASMFC webinar and submit comments by the Dec. 10 deadline.
Next step: ASMFC will consider the Technical Committee's options at the board level in December. Virginia staff said the state will update its regulations to align with any ASMFC decisions once they are finalized.
