Note: For more on New England BHA’s support of striped bass science, policy, and management, listen to episode #2 of Conservation Cooperative “Striped Bass Science & Management” available wherever you listen to podcasts.
Around a year ago BHA’s New England Chapter made a strategic contribution supporting a Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
study focused on better understanding release mortality in Atlantic striped bass. Earlier this year the New England’s Chapter made an additional investment in the project, which will support for Mass DMF’s work for the next 12 months.
Currently, ASMFC’s striped bass managers predict recreational release mortality by applying the results of a 1996 study, which found that 9% of released bass die as a result of angling interactions, to annual estimates of angler effort from up and down the coast. While it’s unreasonable to expect that any data model will be perfect, there is little doubt that a fish’s chances of survival are heavily influenced by fishing methods, fighting and handling practices, and environmental conditions like water temperature – all of which can vary widely based on the angler, location, and time of year. The authors of the 1996 study, Paul J. Diodati and R. Anne Richards, knew this and explicitly stated that ‘Our present model would not be sufficient for estimating coastwide hooking mortality of striped bass, as it does not include effects of factors such as fish size and environmental variables (temperature, salinity) on mortality.’ Nonetheless, ASMFC’s striped bass managers have used it as the modeling standard for the last three decades to predict recreational release mortality, which in the most recent striped bass stock assessment contributed around half of all fishing mortality in the striped bass fishery.
Back in 2020, Mass DMF embarked on a project to better understand the survival of recreationally-caught striped bass. In its first stage, biologists tagged bass with accelerometer transmitters to monitor survival after being caught using various fishing methods. Starting in 2023 Mass DMF enlisted the public to collect data through a citizen science project, and also began a partnership with the GotOne app that allows recreational anglers to more easily submit fishing data to the agency.
Since it was opened in 2023, over 900 anglers have signed up to provide data through Mass DMF’s citizen science project and nearly 6,000 catches from 1,700 trips have been logged. This is where the BHA’s funding comes in - it supports the data management platform that Mass DMF biologists are using to organize the tens-of-thousands of individual data points that come into the agency into meaningful, actionable information. Additionally, BHA’s funding supports a publicly-viewable data portal so that those curious about the study can see the data for themselves in real time.
While our ultimate hope is that Mass DMF’s work will replace the outdated 1996 study with a new data model that is approved for management, the study has already begun to move the needle both in the regulatory arena and throughout the angling community. At their 2024 Spring Meeting, ASMFC’s Striped Bass Board created a ‘Recreational Release Mortality Work Group’, whose tasks included providing recommendations to the Board based on Mass DMF’s study. Additionally, our friends at the American Saltwater Guides Association and The Saltwater Edge have kicked off a program to incentivize anglers to upgrade their gear based on the best available science, and conservation-minded brands like Hogy Lures are updating their designs to give anglers options right out of the box that reduce release mortality.
“In all facets of our work, BHA is committed to ensuring North America’s fish & wildlife are managed according to the best available science – and when current science is clearly lacking, BHA supports efforts to modernize it” said New England Chapter Board Chair Michael Woods. “ASMFC’s Striped Bass Board is halfway through their 10-year rebuilding timeline and still has a long way to go if they’re serious about recovering the fishery. With actionable data already coming out of Mass DMF’s release mortality study we hope that the Striped Bass Board will follow the science if the upcoming stock assessment update reveals that additional fishing mortality reductions are needed to meet the 2029 recovery deadline. BHA will continue to keep our members updated on public input opportunities, and to advocate for near-term recovery, and long-term abundance of the striped bass fishery.”
About Chris Borgatti
BHA Eastern Policy & Conservation Manager