Arlington, VA – The Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board will meet in-person and via webinar on Monday, December 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to consider changing 2025 management measures to increase the probability of rebuilding the stock by the 2029 deadline. The meeting will be held at the Westin Crystal City, 1800 Richmond Hwy, Arlington, VA 22202. The draft agenda, webinar information, and the Technical Committee Report with management options for consideration will be posted here by December 3; the availability of this information will be announced by press release. The Advisory Panel Report and all written comments received by December 10 will be posted no later than December 13.

The meeting responds to the results of the 2024 Stock Assessment Update, which indicates the resource remains overfished but is not experiencing overfishing. Short-term projections estimate an increase in fishing mortality in 2025 due to the above average 2018 year-class entering the current recreational ocean slot limit combined with the lack of strong year-classes behind it. In this scenario, the probability of rebuilding by 2029 is less than 50%. Under Addendum II to Amendment 7, the Board can change management measures through Board action, instead of developing an addendum, if the stock assessment indicates a less than 50% probability of the stock rebuilding by 2029. As a result, the Board will meet December 16 to consider changing 2025 management measures to reduce fishing mortality and increase the probability of rebuilding to at least 50%.

Public Comment Guidelines

The Commission anticipates a large volume of written public comments will be submitted for this meeting. In order to compile and provide the comments to the Board in a timely manner before the meeting, written comments may be submitted via email to comments@asmfc.org by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, December 10. Comments received after this date will not be included in the Board’s materials.

If your organization is planning to release an action alert, please contact Emilie Franke, FMP Coordinator, at efranke@asmfc.org or 703.842.0716, so she can work with you to develop a unique subject line to enable us to better organize incoming comments.

Per the Commission’s public comment guidelines, the Board Chair will provide the opportunity for comment at the meeting, taking into account the time allotted on the agenda. The Chair has the discretion in deciding how to allocate comment opportunities. This could include hearing one comment in favor and one in opposition of a motion until the Chair is satisfied further comments will not provide additional insight to the Board.

Informational Webinar to Review Technical Report

The Commission will host an Informational Webinar on Thursday, December 5 at 6 p.m. to review the management options developed by the Technical Committee and provide the public with sufficient background information to inform the development and submission of public comment by December 10. No public comments will be taken at this webinar; staff can address clarifying questions as time allows but public comments will not be taken. To register for the December 5 Informational Webinar, please go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3243414609517348697 (Webinar ID 263-766-419).

If you are joining the webinar but will not be using voice over internet protocol, you can may also call in at +1 (562) 247-8422, access code 195-793-780. A PIN will be provided to you after joining the webinar. For those who will not be joining the webinar but would like to listen in to the audio portion only, press the # key when asked for a PIN.

For more information, please contact Emilie Franke at efranke@asmfc.org.