Riverkeeper helps secure key safeguards for striped bass
Changes lay groundwork for population recovery despite new interstate management plan falling short
November 19, 2025
David Stormer, Ph.D.
Habitat Restoration Director
Key takeaways
- The organization that oversees fishery management in state waters along the Atlantic coast released a plan that leaves striped bass with only a ~30 percent chance of hitting the species’ population recovery goal by 2029.
- Riverkeeper secured key safeguards including standardized measurement rules for caught fish that will help anglers protect smaller young fish and larger spawning-size adults by remaining compliant with regulations, and the establishment of a new group that will explore ways to help rebuild the population of this keystone species.
- The amount of Atlantic menhaden that commercial anglers are permitted to catch remains too high, negatively impacting this important food source for stripers.
The organization that oversees fishery management in state waters along the Atlantic coast recently approved its new plan to manage striped bass. While the plan falls short in several key areas, Riverkeeper helped secure important improvements that lay the groundwork for striped bass population recovery moving forward.
On October 29, 2025, the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) approved changes to the management plan for Atlantic striped bass. Despite only a 30 percent chance of achieving the goal of increasing striper numbers, the ASMFC approved the option that maintains the status quo — essentially a do-nothing approach to managing perhaps the most important fishery on the entire east coast of the United States.
Riverkeeper believes that any management plan with a 70 percent chance of failure should not have been considered. However, there are a few silver linings in these recent management decisions.
Riverkeeper’s impact on striped bass management
Riverkeeper’s input throughout this process was key in shaping the future of striped bass management. We provided statements in support of a conservation-minded approach during multiple public hearings across New York, and as result of the comments we submitted, the ASMFC Striped Bass Management Board established standardized definitions for measuring striped bass.
This move will help enforce the intended protection of smaller young fish and larger spawning-size adults, make measurement simpler and more consistent for anglers, and improve data to better inform future management decisions. This motion passed unanimously, and states that do not have the new definition in place already have until January 1, 2027 to update their regulations.
Additionally, Riverkeeper helped push for the inclusion of a work group to consider upcoming stock and management challenges beyond 2029 — an amendment that was approved by a 14-2 vote. The work group will consider an approach to future species population projections that more closely considers young fish, a review of the efficacy of enhancing the wild population with fish bred in hatcheries, an evaluation of the potential for river systems like the Hudson to contribute to striped bass numbers, an exploration of the impacts of climate change and invasive species on stripers, and an examination of ways to address the large percentage of striped bass that die after being caught and released by recreational anglers.
We are hopeful that the establishment of the work group will lead to a deeper understanding of striped bass population dynamics and improved future management of this iconic species.
Why Atlantic striped bass are in trouble and how we got here
Atlantic striped bass were declared overfished in 2019 and subsequently subjected to a 10-year population rebuilding plan that requires reaching a set target for the estimated total weight of all sexually mature adult female fish in the population by 2029.
The number of young fish that will ultimately make up the adult population have been very low over the last several years. Given this, projections show striped bass will not reach their 2029 target even by 2035, and will actually begin to decline in the near future.
In 2024, the ASMFC conducted a stock assessment that indicated the total population of striped bass remained overfished. In response, they developed management alternatives to support meeting the target of a 50 percent probability of rebuilding the stock by 2029. Many alternatives were on the table, and Riverkeeper supported the option that would at least meet, if not exceed, the target. This option would have required a modest 12 percent reduction in the amount of fish harvested through commercial operations and ocean recreational anglers in 2026. But in the end, the ASMFC chose the status quo.
Protecting stripers’ food source and future
The successful rebuilding of the striped bass stock involves more than managing just striped bass harvest, it also must ensure there is enough food for stripers in the ocean. Atlantic menhaden, a type of herring also known as bunker or pogy, is a crucial forage species in the Atlantic coastal ecosystem, supporting a wide range of predators including striped bass: The two species are ecologically linked.
Menhaden is managed by the ASMFC using benchmarks that take into consideration the needs of predators like striped bass. To successfully rebuild the striped bass population, fishing mortality must be maintained below target levels for both species.
The ASMFC’s recent 2025 stock assessment indicated Atlantic menhaden biomass is over 30 percent lower than previously estimated. To reduce fishing mortality to its target and, by extension, support striped bass stock rebuilding, the coastwide menhaden quota would need to be cut immediately by more than 50 percent. Unfortunately, the ASMFC’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board voted to reduce 2026 commercial catch by only 20 percent. The decision will likely prevent sufficient sustenance for striped bass and other predators that rely on menhaden as a primary source of food, and it diminishes the ASMFC’s recent progress towards the goal of a holistic, ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management.
Founded by striped bass anglers, Riverkeeper has long been an advocate for ecosystem-based fisheries management strategies that promote the health of the Hudson River estuary as a whole. We will continue to push for measures that restore these iconic populations for the benefit of anglers, communities, and the waters they call home.
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