{"id":27498,"date":"2019-05-15T11:45:32","date_gmt":"2019-05-15T15:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=27498"},"modified":"2019-05-15T12:15:05","modified_gmt":"2019-05-15T16:15:05","slug":"marylands-regular-striped-bass-season-opens-may-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2019\/05\/15\/marylands-regular-striped-bass-season-opens-may-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland\u2019s Regular Striped Bass Season Opens"},"content":{"rendered":"

State Expands Conservation Message and Outreach<\/span><\/i>
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\"PhotoMaryland\u2019s regular striped bass season gets underway on May 16, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources<\/a> reminds anglers that conservation <\/span>regulations put in place last year<\/span><\/a> are in effect through the end of 2019. <\/span><\/p>\n

When fishing in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries, anglers must use non-offset <\/span>circle hooks<\/span><\/a> when live-lining or chumming, and must use circle hooks or \u201cJ\u201d hooks when using fish, crabs, worms, or processed baits.<\/span>
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The minimum size striped bass that may be kept is 19 inches. Catch limits are two fish per day between 19-28 inches, or one fish between 19-28 inches and one fish over 28 inches.<\/span><\/p>\n

With these regulations, Maryland took the lead last year in addressing the most pressing problem facing the Chesapeake Bay\u2019s striper population: the significant volume of \u201cdead discards\u201d in the recreational fishery, where many striped bass are caught and released, but do not survive when they are returned to the water.
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\n<\/span>\u201cThese regulations were designed to address the shared concerns of anglers, charters and conservationists who reported high mortality rates of sublegal rockfish,\u201d Fishing and Boating Services Monitoring and Assessment Director Michael Luisi said. “The public input from these stakeholders along with our best available science helped us establish an early effort to curb this mortality.” <\/span>
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The Maryland Department of Natural Resources further encourages all anglers to do their part by implementing voluntary conservation measures, including handling fish more carefully and reducing the number of fish they catch and later release. The department has several recommendations and <\/span>resources<\/span><\/a>, including new videos, available online for easy reference.<\/span>
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Key recommendations are:<\/span><\/p>\n