The following story originally appeared on the website for W&M’s VIMS & Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences. – Ed.
Preliminary results from an ongoing long-term survey conducted by William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) suggest that an average year class of young-of-year striped bass was produced in the Virginia tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay in 2026. Striped bass are an important top predator in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and a valuable resource for commercial and recreational anglers. The 2026 year class, representing fish hatched this spring, will reach fishable sizes in three to four years.
The VIMS Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey recorded a mean value of 9.52 fish per seine haul in the Virginia portion of the Chesapeake Bay. The 2026 value is an increase from the 5.12 fish per seine haul recorded in 2025, though both years are similar to the historical average (7.77 fish per seine haul) observed in Virginia tributaries. The improvement in recruitment observed in 2025 and 2026 is consistent with historically observed patterns: years with below-average recruitment (i.e., 1999, 2002, 2012, 2024) were followed by years with average to above-average recruitment (i.e., 2000, 2003, 2013, 2025).
“While this year’s class is considered average in terms of abundance, it represents a significant increase from 2024,” said Jack Buchanan, marine scientist at VIMS and the chief scientist of the Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey, who noted that striped bass recruitment can vary considerably from year to year. “A single year of poor recruitment can be partially offset by the previous or following year’s production, which helps stabilize the overall population and the fisheries it supports.”
The VIMS survey team samples fish from 18 index sites in the Rappahannock, York and James River systems. Scientists sample each site five times from mid-June to early September, deploying a 100-foot seine net from the shore. Captured fish are counted, measured and returned alive to the river. At this time of year, young striped bass usually measure between 1.5 and 4 inches. In 2026, scientists measured 2,648 juvenile striped bass at index sites in Virginia.
Researchers at VIMS & the Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences have conducted the Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey annually since 1967 for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and to support coastwide stock assessments for striped bass.
The striped bass population in the Chesapeake Bay has rebounded from historic lows in the late 1970s and early 1980s, after fishing bans were enacted in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia in the mid- to late-1980s. Since then, the population increased to the point that striped bass in the Bay and elsewhere along the Atlantic Coast were considered recovered. Years of heavy fishing followed, after which scientists determined that the striped bass population was overfished, and that fishing-related mortality exceeded sustainable levels.
According to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) 2024 Atlantic Striped Bass Stock Assessment Update Report, the stock remains overfished but is no longer experiencing overfishing. Since 2022, multiple measures – including size limits on the recreational fishery, bag limits, gear restrictions and commercial quota reductions – have been implemented to reduce fishing mortality and rebuild the striped bass stock by 2029.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) conducts a similar survey within Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay. In 2026, Maryland DNR recorded a below-average year class. More information about the Maryland DNR seine survey is available at their website.
For more information about current striped bass management and regulations, visit the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission website.
Staff, University News & Media