Date of Award

5-1981

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Marine Affairs

Abstract

Beginning in 1975 striped bass sports fishermen noticed a decrease in fish around. This decline was cause for alarm in 1977 when few striped bass were caught from shore. Commercial catch statistics showed that in 1973, 13,504,000 pounds of bass were landed. In 1979 the poundage was 3,492,000, a significant drop of 74%. This led to the development of state and regional striped bass advisory committees, an N.M.F.S. and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Emergency Action Plan and Congressional appropriation of 4.7 million dollars in 1979 to study the problem. The problem is multifactored and solutions lie in consistent coastal management of the fish with uniform size and bag limits.

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