(06/08 NCDMF)
STRIPED BASS (Albemarle Sound Management Area (ASMA)/Roanoke River Management Area (RRMA))

Stock Status - Viable – The stock is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring.  Juvenile abundance indices continue to be around the average observed since the stocks were declared recovered in 1997.  The overall age structure of the stock continues to expand, with an overall increase in abundance of age 8+ fish in the population.  SSB is continuing to increase and has been above the recommended threshold since 2002.

Average Commercial Landings and Value 1998-2007 – 213,166 lbs./$316,848

2007 Commercial Landings and Value – 171,682 lbs./$374,761 (quota managed)

Average Recreational Landings 1998-2007 – ASMA – 72,809 lbs.
RRMA – 90,571 lbs.

2007 Recreational Landings – ASMA – 26,633 lbs. (quota managed)
RRMA – 62,492 lbs. (quota managed)

Average Number of Citations 1998- 2007 (35 lbs.) – 0

Average Recreational Commercial Gear License (RCGL) Landings – 2002-2007 – 2,065 lbs., 2007 – 972 lbs.

Status of Fisheries Management Plans (FMP) - An amended N.C. Estuarine Striped Bass FMP was adopted in May 2004 by the N. C. Marine Fisheries Commission to address the striped bass fisheries in all internal coastal waters of the state. The N.C. Estuarine Striped Bass FMP will undergo revision starting in July 2008. 

Research and Data Needs – update maturation schedule, release mortality estimates for various gears, and age-1 abundance estimates.

Current Regulations – ASMA – 18 inches minimum total length (TL) coastal, joint and inland waters, 3 fish daily creel limit.
RRMA – 18 inches minimum TL; no striped bass between 22 and 27 inches in Roanoke River; 2 fish daily creel limit and only 1 fish in daily creel may be greater than 27 inches TL

Recreational Harvest Season – ASMA – Spring (January – April); Fall (October – December)
RRMA – March-April

Size and Age at Maturity – males: 12 – 18 inches TL/2 – 3 years.  females: 18 – 24 inches TL/3 – 6 years

Historical and Current Maximum Age – 29 years/ 18 years

Juvenile Abundance Index – 1998 – 2007 - 12.4, 2007 – 7.2

Habits and Habitats - Striped bass are anadromous, spending the majority of their adult life stage in the high salinity waters of the near-shore ocean and estuaries, migrating to fresh water to spawn in the spring.  Striped bass require flowing, fresh water habitats in order to spawn successfully, allowing the eggs to remain suspended until they hatch, and to transport larvae to the nursery areas.  Spawning takes place during late April until early June.  North Carolina is host to several different stocks of striped bass.  One is the Atlantic migratory stock that often over-winters off the Outer Banks.  These striped bass originate principally from the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware and Hudson River systems.  They remain in their natal systems from two to three years then begin migrating along the Atlantic coast, northward in the summer and southward during the winter.  The Albemarle Sound-Roanoke River area supports the largest spawning population in North Carolina.  Other populations are found in the Neuse, Tar/Pamlico, and Cape Fear rivers.

For more information, contact Charlton Godwin at charlton.godwin@ncmail.net (800-338-7805 or 252-264-3911).