CHESAPEAKE BAY, Md. - Striped bass are once again at the center of a debate between Maryland’s charter boat captains and the state’s Department of Natural Resources.
To address declining striped bass populations, DNR is proposing changes that would allow catch-and-release fishing in April and the first two weeks of May, when the species is typically off-limits during its spring spawning season. In exchange, the department wants to close the fishery for the month of August.
“The spawning population of fish is relatively healthy. It is the resident fish in Maryland that live here for the first five years of their life—those are the fish that are in most trouble,” said Mike Luisi, branch director for Management and Science with Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources Fishing and Boating Services.
Luisi said the proposal is based on water temperatures and survival rates of released fish.
“Water's cold [in April], the water is well oxygenated during that time of the year. So catching a bigger fish and releasing it—there's less probability that that fish will die in April than it will in August,” Luisi said.
But some charter boat captains disagree, arguing that targeting striped bass during spawning season does more harm than good.
“Manipulating them, targeting them in a river system, when they're getting ready to spawn, doesn't do anything for the female spawning stock biomass,” said Capt. Jason Seman, who operates the charter boat, Maryland Fishing and Hunting.
Seman also said the proposed closure in August could deal a financial blow to an industry still reeling from past restrictions.
“A large portion of our current business happens during the summer months. There's 59 boats as of today that have sold since the regulations have changed on our charter boats,” he said.
Maryland DNR is continuing to discuss the proposed changes with the federal Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The public will have an opportunity to comment this fall.
A final decision is expected in October. If approved, the new regulations would go into effect in spring 2026.