New York’s most beloved fish is spawning at an alarmingly low rate.
Striped bass is a prize catch in New York City and up the Hudson River. The fish is so popular along the East Coast it’s even been called “America’s national fish,” though that designation isn’t official. But a new survey by the state Department Environmental Conservation showed the number of juvenile stripers in the Hudson River is at its lowest since 1985.
The drop mirrors a decadelong decline found in other major striper fisheries like the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River, according to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. New finalized regulations are set to go into effect this year in New York and along the Atlantic coast to help striped bass recover – but some advocates worry the measures don’t go far enough.
“We’ve seen a pretty steady decline in that spawning stock biomass, which is basically the amount of mature females that are able to reproduce in the population,” said Emilie Franke, the fishery management plan coordinator at Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The spawning stock from the Chesapeake Bay to Hudson River in 2010 was about 250 million pounds, according to Franke. About a decade later, it had dropped to 140 million pounds.
The Albany Times Union reported on the latest state count of juvenile striped bass earlier this month.
Sports fishers love stripers for their large size – the largest ever caught was 81 pounds – and how fun they are to catch. The fish swim from the Atlantic Ocean up the Hudson River to spawn each spring, giving anglers the chance to hook them from shore or off of a pier.
“It’s the No. 1 fish that everyone goes after from Maryland to Rhode island,” said Adrian Moeller, who runs fishing trips for Rockfish Charters. “You can catch it from anywhere – pier, boat, beach – it’s so accessible.”
The recent low tally contrasts with the experience of Moeller and other fishers. Last year was a terrific year for…
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