Adult Spawning Stock Survey

Type: Chesapeake
Region:
Location: Maryland's Portion of the Bay

Since 1985, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Service has annually conducted an Adult Spawning Stock Survey for striped bass in the Upper Bay and Potomac River. The goal of this survey is to characterize the age, size, and sex structure, and abundance at age of spawning striped bass in Maryland's portion of the Chesapeake Bay. Biologists collect length, fish health, sex, maturity stage and scale samples to determine age. Scale samples are used to make an age-length key for the spawning stock. This key is used to determine the size at age and sex ratio at age of the striped bass spawning stock of Maryland's portion of the Chesapeake Bay. These data are inputs to the coastwide stock assessment conducted by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

For more information on this survey, and other surveys by the Striped Bass Program, please visit the program pages:
Adult Spawning Stock Survey
Striped Bass Program Page

Below are two pictures of a large female caught during the survey last week. She was 1218 mm (48 inches) and almost maxed out our measuring board! Pictured with the fish is Fisheries Biologist Jeffrey Horne and pictures taken by Beth Versak.