Plenty of noise was made early in November when the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) announced that it had decided to decrease the coastal catch of striped bass by at least 25% and the Chesapeake Bay catch by 20.5% (from 2012 levels). These regulations were considered appropriate considering the results of the 2013 Atlantic striped bass benchmark stock assessment, which indicated female spawning has been steadily declining below the target level since 2006. As a result, a public meeting is being held on November 24 at AACC in Arnold. Info is below. The Department will be accepting public comment on recreational and commercial striped bass fishery management rule changes that are necessary to comply with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s approval of Addendum IV to the Interstate Striped Bass Fishery Management Plan in October 2014. A summary of the required actions and rule changes under consideration are summarized below. A meeting to obtain public input will be held on Monday, November 24, 2014 at the Anne Arundel Community College located at 101 College Pkwy, Arnold, MD 21012 at 6 p.m. in the Florestano Building, Room 101. Public comments can also be submitted to the attention of Fisheries Regulatory Staff via email at [email protected], mail at Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Fisheries Service B-2, 580 Taylor Avenue, Annapolis MD 21401 or fax at (410)260-8310 through December 3, 2014. Coastal Fisheries –The ASMFC defines Maryland’s coastal fisheries as those in the Atlantic Ocean and coastal bays, and the Spring Chesapeake Bay recreational fishery. The following management changes are under consideration to achieve the ASMFC required 25% harvest reduction in 2015. • Commercial: Reduce the annual quota to 94,800 pounds and maintain the current season and 24-inch minimum size limit through conservation equivalency. • Recreational: Reduce the individual daily creel limit from 2 to 1 fish and maintain the current season and 28-inch minimum size limit. • Spring Chesapeake Bay Recreational Fishery: Increase the minimum size from 28-inches to 36-inches and maintain the current season of 3rd Saturday in April to May 15 and individual daily creel limit of 1 fish. Chesapeake Bay Fisheries – The ASMFC requires a 20.5% harvest reduction in 2015. • Commercial: The following two management options are under consideration, and are considered to be conservationally equivalent. o Option A: Reduce the annual quota to 1.472 million pounds and maintain the current season and 18-inch minimum and 36-inch maximum size limits. o Option B: Reduce the annual quota to 1.508 million pounds through conservation equivalency associated with an increase minimum size from 18-inches to 20-inches, and maintain the current season and maximum 36-inch size limit. • Recreational: o Increase the minimum size from 18-inches to 20-inches and maintain the 2 fish individual daily creel limit and season of May 16 to December 15. o Note: Because the above option is projected to achieve a reduction slightly higher than the required 20.5%, Maryland is considering submitting a proposal to ASMFC to extend the season from December 15 to December 20.