Secretary’s Message: Cold Winter Could Boost Prospects for Striped Bass

Juvenile striped bass being measured by DNR scientists during the 2018 young-of-the-year survey. Notably, this was the most recent survey to show an above-average juvenile index. Maryland DNR photo.

Deep in one of the coldest winters in recent memory, many Marylanders are already thinking ahead to spring. But thanks to the frozen waters of the Chesapeake Bay, our iconic striped bass could be receiving a boost.

Scientists believe environmental factors such as warmer, drier winters and decreased spring water flow rates are the driving forces behind consecutive years of diminished spawning success of striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay. 

Striped bass spawning is triggered by rising water temperatures in spring, with optimum temperatures between 57 and 68 degrees. For larval striped bass to survive the first several weeks after hatching, food must be readily available and water temperatures can’t drop below 54 degrees. In late 2023, DNR fisheries biologist Angela Giuliano published a study that looked at the effects of warming water temperatures in the Chesapeake Bay on the timing and length of the striped bass spawning season. As noted in the report, the striped bass spawning season is shortening as early spring temperatures are rising in the Bay region. 

Hopefully this cold winter will lead to  a slower warm-up in Bay tributaries where striped bass spawn and therefore a longer duration of suitable temperatures for spawning. Having the right temperatures during spawning and in the early weeks of the lives of larval striped bass are critical. The right temperature means that the next generation of striped bass could have better conditions to survive and an adequate amount of the tiny organisms called zooplankton that they consume.

Striped bass are managed jointly by Atlantic coast states, but Maryland has a unique place in the life cycle of striped bass. The tributaries of the Chesapeake harbor the spawning grounds for these fish, where they live the first few years of their life before heading to the Atlantic Ocean.

Maryland and other member states of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission have attempted to turn around the low spawning success by focusing on reducing harvest to protect striped bass. 

In recent years Maryland has reduced daily catch limits and slot sizes for striped bass, required the use of less harmful circle hooks for bait fishing, and introduced mid-season closures during the hottest part of the summer to reduce the number of fish that die from the stress of catch-and-release fishing. The measures were intended to protect the large females in the population, and after five years there has been an increase in the number of adult female fish, but not an increase in juvenile striped bass. 

This year we are proposing to reestablish the catch-and-release season for April, and returning the May 1-15 harvest season, where an individual may harvest one fish per person per day between 19—24 inches total length. We also propose to change the mid-season closure from late July to the month of August. Water temperatures have been seasonably warm in August in recent years, so we hope this switch, if approved, will reduce catch-and-release mortality in the fishery. Reopening the catch-and-release fishery in April is not expected to affect the outcome of the spring striped bass spawning period. The department is currently taking public input on these changes.

Although based on data and science, the impacts of these changes will need to be assessed annually to determine if revisions are necessary. Of course, single-season data may not be conclusive, but let’s hope that out of this deep freeze we can see a renewed spark in striped bass reproduction.  

Josh Kurtz is Secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.