In a February 5th news alert from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) titled “Secretary’s Message: Cold Winter Could Boost Prospects for Striped Bass,” the agency noted that this being one of the coldest winters in recent memory could provide striped bass spawning on the Chesapeake “a boost.”
The report authored by DNR secretary Josh Kurtz explains how striped bass spawning is triggered by rising water temperatures in spring, with optimum temperatures between 57 and 68 degrees. For larval striped bass to survive the first several weeks after hatching, Kurtz said food must be readily available and water temperatures can’t drop below 54 degrees.
“Hopefully this cold winter will lead to a slower warm-up in Bay tributaries where striped bass spawn and therefore a longer duration of suitable temperatures for spawning,” said Kurtz, adding “Having the right temperatures during spawning and in the early weeks of the lives of larval striped bass are critical.”
“The right temperature means that the next generation of striped bass could have better conditions to survive and an adequate amount of the tiny organisms called zooplankton that they consume,” Kurtz went on to add. As noted in the news alert, the striped bass spawning season on the Chesapeake has been shortening as early spring temperatures rise in the Bay region.
Scientists believe environmental factors such as warmer, drier winters and decreased spring water flow rates are the driving forces behind consecutive years of diminished spawning success of striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay. Hopefully, the extraordinary return of a long, cold traditional winter will result in greater young-of-the-year (YOY) success in 2026.
Last fall, Maryland’s DNR released the results of their 2025 juvenile striped bass survey which recorded a young-of-year index of 4.0. “This is an improvement over recent years, but still well below the long-term survey average of 11,” DNR said at the time, adding that this marks the seventh consecutive year of low spawning success for striped bass in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake.
The 2025 Delaware River Seine Survey coordinated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and its Division of Fish & Wildlife concluded on November 3, 2025 and found the preliminary YOY index for striped bass at .782 which ranks 28th in the 45-year time series for the Delaware River production. “This is the highest index since 2019 (1.308) but below the survey average of 1.06,” the division noted.
On February 4, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issued an update on the Hudson River’s Atlantic striped bass Juvenile Abundance Index that found another down year in terms of the young-of-the-year striped bass production in the Hudson. “For the third straight year, DEC’s annual juvenile striped bass survey in the Hudson River documented poor striped bass reproduction, heightening concerns about future abundance and long-term management implications for this critical resource,” said New York’s DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton. The index value, which provides an estimate of annual reproduction for striped bass in the Hudson River, is generated through beach seine surveys at 13 sites in the lower Hudson River conducted bi-weekly from July to November.
