CHESAPEAKE BEACH, Md. — There are new signs that the Chesapeake Bay’s signature fish species, the Rockfish, is in deep trouble.
Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources proposed emergency regulations, including the suspension of the traditional spring trophy Rockfish season for recreational anglers in an attempt to stop a steep decline in the population of juvenile fish. The fish are also widely known as Striped Bass outside the region.
Seventy to 90 percent of the Rockfish that range the Atlantic Coast from Maine to North Carolina are spawned in Maryland waters during spring. But scientists have documented below-average reproduction in Maryland for the past five years.
The poor numbers took an even deeper dive in 2023, with the second-lowest abundance of juvenile Rockfish in Chesapeake Bay waters in nearly 70 years of record keeping.
In addition to canceling the annual trophy season, which lets recreational fishermen target the biggest fish for two weeks in early May, the agency proposes extending a number of other previous restrictions put in place in recent years on Maryland's half-billion-dollar recreational Rockfish industry. Those restrictions have included a single-fish limit and a pause on catching Rockfish during the hottest weather, which kills too many stressed fish.
Climate change appears to be a significant factor in the poor reproduction numbers in Maryland, according to Lynn Waller Fegley, director of Fisheries and Boating for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
"Striped Bass need cold wet winters to set up conditions for a good spawn," Fegley said. "If we are having warm, dry winters and we don't get those spring rains in the snow melt. We may have a different environment for Striped Bass."
Fegley said Maryland does not appear to be on track for a moratorium on harvesting Rockfish, because she says there are enough fish to rebound the population if conditions for spawning improve.
A 5-year fishing moratorium between 1985 and 1990 is credited with rescuing the population, which was on the verge of collapse at that time.
The former Maryland State Senator who spearheaded the historic moratorium nearly 40 years ago warns that too much fishing, not climate change, is the primary problem.
"Clearly, overfishing is a major factor in the decline and needs to be better addressed," said Gerald Winegrad. "The good news, is that rockfish have not reached the collapsed levels of 1984. The bad news, is that the time for action to prevent a collapse is now. Further harvest restrictions are desperately needed."
Winegrad said the proposed cancellation of the trophy Rockfish season by Maryland's DNR is a step in the right direction, but is not likely to go far enough. Further restrictions focused on commercial harvest are still needed, Winegrad added.