Source: PRESS RELEASE, 8/28/20 The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission this week released two recently completed striped bass assessment reports. The
Albemarle Sound-Roanoke River benchmark assessment and the Central Southern
Management Area Stock Report are posted on the Division of Marine Fisheries and the Wildlife Resources Commission websites.
These reports represent a joint effort between the two agencies, and a working
group of stock assessment modelers, university researchers, and fishery
biologists, to review the best available data and develop analyses to assess
the current condition of the North Carolina striped bass stocks. The
Albemarle Sound-Roanoke River benchmark assessment indicates the striped bass
resource is overfished and overfishing is occurring. This is a change from the
stock status for these waters in a 2014 assessment that indicated the stock was
not overfished and overfishing was not occurring. The
change in stock status is likely due to a period of low recruitment (the number
of age-1 fish joining the population each year from 2002 to 2017) combined with
overfishing. The decline in recruitment is not solely due to fishing.
Environmental factors, such as river flow, water quality, and blue catfish (an
invasive species) may be impacting spawning success and need further study.
Following a rigorous external peer review process, the assessment has been
approved for use for management purposes.
There is no stock status determination for the Central Southern Management
Area, comprised of the Tar-Pamlico, Neuse, and Cape Fear rivers. Continuous
stocking efforts and lack of natural recruitment in these waters prevent the
use of traditional stock assessment techniques. The Central Southern Management
Area Stock Report is a collective documentation of all the data collected, all
management efforts, and all major analyses completed for these river stocks. The
report also serves as a record of completed research efforts with implications
for fishery management and as a guide for future research based on results and
identified data gaps. It evaluates the likelihood of successful population
rebuilding under various simulations of stocking and fishery management
strategies such as different harvest levels and size limits. Tagging studies in
the Cape Fear River showed a consistent decline in striped bass abundance
estimates from 2012 to 2018 despite a no possession regulation since 2008. The
Division of Marine Fisheries and the Wildlife Resources Commission are
reviewing the data to determine what management measures should be implemented
for 2021. Additionally,
the Division of Marine Fisheries and Wildlife Resources Commission are
developing Amendment 2 to the N.C. Estuarine Striped Bass Fishery Management
Plan. A scoping period to solicit public comments on potential management
strategies will occur later this fall. For
more information, contact Charlton Godwin (charlton.godwin@ncdenr.gov), with the Division of Marine Fisheries, or Jeremy McCargo (jeremy.mccargo@ncwildlife.org) with the Wildlife Resources Commission. |