Here we are, if you haven’t yet attended a meeting up here in the Northeast, and the striped bass means something to you as a recreational angler or business owner, your last two chances to hear the managers run through the options and the reasons behind them are coming up this week. Perhaps the best thing about attending these meetings is that you can ask questions to the people who know ins and out of this plan better than anyone else. Furthermore, being ‘in the room’ gives you a chance to “take the temperature” on the issue and get a feeling for how different ‘user groups’ are leaning within the scope of the options offered by the Board.
These hearings will be used to gather public input on Draft Addendum III to Amendment 7 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass, which considers management measures to support rebuilding the stock by 2029. The Draft Addendum also addresses commercial tagging programs, a coastwide definition of total length for size limit regulations, and changes to the Maryland recreational season baseline.
The following are the meetings still to take place in and around New England, as of publication date of this edition of The Fisherman:
Monday, September 29 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
General Public Hearing Webinar
The webinar registration link is available here, and additional webinar instructions are below. Contact Emilie Franke at 703-842-0716 for more information.
Tuesday, September 30 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
In-Person Hearing with Virtual Listen-Only option
Note: This is an in-person hearing with a listen-only option available via webinar, at this listen-only link.
Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Admiral’s Hall
101 Academy Drive, Buzzards Bay, MA
Contact Nichola Meserve at 978-290-1672
The public is encouraged to submit comments at any time during the public comment period but no later than 11:59 PM (EST) on October 3, 2025.
There are four ways to submit comments:
- Written comments should be emailed to comments@asmfc.org.
- The public comment form at www.surveymonkey.com/r/Z3WLHF3, which was developed to facilitate the gathering of input on the Draft Addendum’s specific options
- Mailed written comments addressed to Emilie Franke, FMP Coordinator, at 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, Virginia 22201
- Verbal comments provided at any of the scheduled public hearings
For more information, please contact Emilie Franke at efranke@asmfc.org.
