In December, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced the 2024 Hudson River striped bass young-of-year survey results indicate a second consecutive year of poor juvenile production in the Hudson River.
The index value, which provides an estimate of annual juvenile production for striped bass in the Hudson River, is generated through a beach seine survey at 13 sites in the lower Hudson River conducted bi-weekly from July to November.
The 2024 value for the DEC’s Hudson River striped bass young-of-year index was 7.85 fish per haul. This value is below the long-term average, and for the second consecutive year, survey values were below the 25th percentile.
Juvenile production is an important part of rebuilding the coastal striped bass stock and is heavily dependent on environmental conditions in estuaries along the Atlantic Coast.
The recent low values in the Hudson River add to concerns about striped bass production in other Atlantic coastal estuaries. The Hudson River acts as a nursery for the newly hatched young of year bass and in early fall they begin moving out of the estuary into near shore coastal areas.
In the Hudson River, striped bass are an ecologically, recreationally, and economically important species of migratory fish. Adults spend most of their time in coastal waters and return to the fresh water of the Hudson River each spring to spawn before returning back to the Atlantic Ocean.
The Maryland young-of-year index in the Chesapeake Bay also posted poor results in 2024, extending a string of poor annual reproduction events in the Chesapeake Bay to a sixth consecutive year.
New York State works cooperatively with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to manage striped bass.
In response to projections from the 2024 Stock Assessment Update, the ASMFC Board will meet in December to consider adjusting 2025 management measures to reduce fishing mortality and increase the probability of rebuilding the coastal stock of striped bass.
source: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
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