Raise your voice for options that will best position the fishery to recover by the 2029 deadline.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) recently approved Addendum III to Amendment 7 to the Fisheries Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass  and has since made it available for public comment. This management action is the latest in their series of efforts to recover the striped bass fishery, which was declared overfished back in 2019. BHA has been involved in every management action that ASMFC has undertaken related to striped bass since Amendment 7 was initiated back in 2020, and we will be continuing that work advocating for the best options included in Addendum III. We encourage you to join us in raising your voice for options that will best position the fishery to recover by the 2029 deadline. 

 

ASMFC’s Addendum III - How did we get here? 

The Atlantic striped bass was declared overfished in 2019, prompting the implementation of a rebuilding plan aimed at restoring the stock to its target spawning stock biomass by 2029. 

The 2024 Stock Assessment Update, completed in October 2024, along with subsequent projection updates in late 2024 and most recently in June 2025, provided the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board with the most current data on the stock's status and progress toward rebuilding. 

Short-term projections from the assessment indicate that the probability of achieving the 2029 rebuilding target is less than 50%, with fishing mortality expected to increase in 2025.

In response to the 2024 Stock Assessment Update and the updated projections, the Board initiated Draft Addendum III which proposes recreational and commercial management measures for implementation in 2026. These measures aim to reduce fishery removals by 12%, thereby enhancing the likelihood of meeting the 2029 rebuilding goal.

 

BHA’s Addendum III - Position Summary 

• 3.1 – Method to Measure Total Length of a Striped Bass (pg. 25)
  • BHA Supports Option B – coastwide uniform length definition

• 3.2 – Commercial Tagging – Point of Tagging (pg. 26)
  • BHA Supports Option B – commercial tagging required at point of harvest

• 3.3 – Maryland Chesapeake Bay Recreational Season Baseline (pg. 28)
  • BHA Supports Option C – new Maryland Chesapeake bay recreational season baseline with a 10% uncertainty buffer

• 3.4 Reduction in Fishery Removals to Support Stock Rebuilding (pg. 33)
  • BHA Supports Option B – even 12% reductions for recreational & commercial striped bass fisheries
  • BHA Opposes sub-options O2 & CB2, which would exempt for-hire fleet from participating in recovery effort proportionally to all other segments of the fishery
  • BHA opposes all no-target closure options included in O1 and CB3

 

Ways to Comment on Addendum III

We strongly encourage anglers to share their perspectives on Addendum III, but we ask that comments remain focused on the specific options under consideration. While all feedback is valued, comments that stray beyond the scope of the addendum are less helpful to the process, as fishery managers are only addressing the issues and options outlined in the document. Your focused input will ensure that the discussion remains productive and aligned with the goals of the management plan.

• Submit written comments to ASMFC by October 3 Deadline
  • Use Our Action Alert!
  • Submit your own letter or email. 
• Attend a public hearing
  • Public hearings kick off September 8 in NH and conclude September 30 in Massachusetts. Click here for hearing details (note: some hearings are in-person only, while others are hybrid). 
  • Utilize our permission summary and public testimony guide (available soon)
• Submit comments directly to your Commissioners or the state whose waters you fish frequently

BHA’s Addendum III Letter to ASMFC (coming soon)