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| From the
1999 Southern Division of the American Fisheries Society Midyear Meeting held in
Chattanooga, Tennessee. |
The Collapse and Recovery of the
Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River Striped Bass Population: Are We Really There Yet?
James W. Kornegay, North Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission, Division of Inland Fisheries, 306 Japonica Drive, Camden, North Carolina
27921; Voice 252/338-3607;
E-Mail kornegjw@mail.wildlife.state.nc.us
Joseph E. Hightower, North Carolina Cooperative Fish and
Wildlife Unit, Box 7617, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695;
Voice 919-515-8836; FAX 919-515-4454;
E-Mail jhightower@ncsu.edu
Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in North Carolina
were once an important source of food for native Americans, early colonists, and more
recently, an important species in commercial and recreational fisheries. Since the advent
of commercial fisheries during the colonial era, the Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River striped
bass stock has been highly exploited. Intensive commercial and recreational fisheries with
few regulations resulted in a peak harvest of 1.3 million pounds during the 1960s,
followed by record low levels in the 1980s. Recent catch-at-age analyses indicate rates of
fishing mortality (F) may have been as high as 1.8 (83% removal annually) during this
period. Concurrent with the decline in landings, reproductive success decreased
dramatically. Regulations restricting the harvest of striped bass were begun in the early
1980s and some fishing practices were eliminated altogether. Fishing mortality remained
high and not until the late 1980s, when a total allowable catch program was implemented,
did F rates begin to decline. Harvest restrictions and management of river flows on the
spawning grounds resulted in a dramatic improvement in spawning stock biomass and in 1997,
the stock was declared "recovered" by ASMFC. Current data indicate a significant
expansion of the stock and increasing representation of older age classes but historical
accounts suggest an age structure much different than in our "recovered" stock.
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