The Chesapeake striper spawn was poor this year, as it was last year.
One should keep in mind that these data sets show wide swings on an annual basis and that stripers are slow growing fish. Better than average spawns have occurred as recently as 2018 and the very strong 2011 year class likely makes up much of the population of larger fish these days.
Nevertheless, the poor results this year are disappointing and serves to reinforce the concerns many of us have for the Atlantic striper population.
One should keep in mind that these data sets show wide swings on an annual basis and that stripers are slow growing fish. Better than average spawns have occurred as recently as 2018 and the very strong 2011 year class likely makes up much of the population of larger fish these days.
Nevertheless, the poor results this year are disappointing and serves to reinforce the concerns many of us have for the Atlantic striper population.