Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) began a quest for better striped bass data in 2023 with the induction of their citizen scientist program. They called upon striped bass anglers across the region to participate by signing up, after which DMF would send out a package containing what was needed to record a catch and directions for doing so. Basically, they wanted to know the size of the fish, roughly where it was caught, how it was caught, water temp, time out of the water and asked anglers to assess the success of their release. Last week they released some of the findings from the project.
“Earlier this year, we put out a request for volunteer anglers willing to record data while fishing for striped bass to help us understand the causes of post-release mortality. Nearly 700 people signed up to participate in the program, greatly exceeding our expectations! Volunteer anglers were supplied with some basic equipment (a digital thermometer, a stopwatch, and a tape measure) and asked to record a variety of data, including: air and water temperature, fish size and hooking location, injury and swimming ability, fight and handling time, as well as some details about the tackle used. Active participants were entered into a weekly raffle drawing from June through October, and 22 lucky anglers took home some Hogy fishing lures, and either a Shimano spinning combo or a pair of Costa sunglasses. Between April and November, these citizen scientists collected valuable information from over 3,700 bass. Here are some initial observations from the data that have been submitted so far:
• 75% of striped bass were caught via artificial lures, 25% were caught via baited hooks
• The greatest level of injury resulted from baited hooks, and lures with multiple treble hooks
• Fish were much weaker when kept out of water for more than two minutes
• Fish caught in water over 75 degrees had a much harder time recovering
These and many other preliminary results can be found on a live data portal: madmf.shinyapps.io/striper/, generously sponsored by our partners at Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.
We are grateful to this community of dedicated anglers for becoming involved in striped bass research and the conservation of this iconic species. The Striped Bass Citizen Science project will continue for another year during the 2024 season.”
It’s an interesting program and a major undertaking that will continue to tell us a lot about release mortality as long as anglers continue to participate. Anyone interested in getting involved can find out more and sign up at mass.gov/striper or email questions to [email protected].
