Maryland Department of Natural Resources Presents Emergency Regulations to Increase Protections for Maryland’s Striped Bass Spawning Population
DNR press release (email) … The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is submitting striped bass emergency regulations this week in an effort to bolster the species’ spawning population. These Maryland-specific actions will complement additional actions that will be implemented coastwide in 2024 by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
“Maryland waters serve as the spawning grounds for a majority of the striped bass that migrate up and down the East Coast, and we take our leadership role in managing the overall population seriously,” said Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz. “That’s why we’re putting forth new regulations to protect spawning striped bass. These management actions will complement additional fishing cuts expected to be taken by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission next year in response to the population decline in recent years.”
The emergency regulations propose to extend two periods already closed to targeting striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay and on the Susquehanna Flats next year. These extensions would result in the elimination of the Maryland Striped Bass Trophy season (May 1 to May 15) and the catch-and-keep fishery on the Flats (May 16 to May 31) in 2024. Read more.