State enacts new rules for striped bass catch

 New York State this week enacted an emergency measure to further limit the size of striped bass that can be taken by recreational anglers this year, even as some fishermen questioned the move's effectiveness. 

The state, following findings and a mandate from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, on Tuesday reduced the size of keeper bass to a range of between 28 inches and 31 inches. Previously the slot size for keeper bass was 28 inches to 35 inches. Recreational anglers can keep one fish a day during the open season between April 15 and Dec. 15. 

Newsday reported on the likelihood of the new restrictions last month, when some fishermen predicted it would harm charter fishing businesses. 

The state Department of Environmental Conservation, which manages the state's fisheries, said in a statement the new restrictions came in response to a "large increase in recreational harvest of striped bass in 2022, and repeated years of poor reproductive success."

The new limit will "protect a large proportion of the remaining adults to allow them to contribute to future spawning and stock rebuilding," the DEC said.

The Atlantic States Commission, which manages the species among multiple states, "will continue to monitor harvest and success of spawning stock rebuilding, and if it deems necessary, may extend the emergency action for two additional periods of up to one year each," the DEC said.

If New York failed to implement the rules, the DEC said, it "could result in the closure of New York's recreational and commercial striped bass fisheries."

Fishermen said while a 4-inch reduction may not sound like a lot, it's enough to sharply increase fishing activity, and could actually damage more fish as anglers attempt to catch fish within the smaller size range. 

"There's going to be more discard mortality," predicted Steve Witthuhn, captain of a Montauk charterboat and a member of t he DEC's Marine Resources Advisory Council, an industry group that advises the DEC. 

Witthuhn, like many other recreational and commercial fishermen, also questioned the science that the new rule is based on, saying it's notoriously unreliable. "Nobody believes the data," he said. 

More information about the emergency rule and the process around its implementation can be found at the DEC's website. 

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.