The principal objective of the project is to generate important population-level information that will assist fisheries regulators with the sustainability of striped bass in virginia

This $252,421 Formula Grant award from the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service under the Sport Fish Restoration program supports research and monitoring activities focused on the sustainability of striped bass populations in Virginia. The key products and services delivered through this one-year award, which began on December 1, 2024, include:

1. Monitoring the abundance, size, and sex of striped bass on the Virginia spawning grounds during the spring spawning season through weekly gill net surveys. This data will be used to estimate abundance indices, analyze year-class strength, and characterize the spawning stocks.

2. Tagging approximately 1,000 legal-sized striped bass in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Coastal Tagging Program. The tag return data will be analyzed to generate estimates of total survival, natural mortality, and fishing mortality for the striped bass population.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission, the state agency responsible for managing and conserving marine resources in Virginia, is the primary grantee. They have issued a $77,380 sub-award to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science to support the mark-recapture tagging segment of the project.

The twofold purpose of the project is to 1) monitor the abundance, size, and SEX of striped bass on the virginia spawning grounds during the spring spawning season and 2) tag approximately 1,000 legal sized (457MM and larger) striped bass in coordination with the US fish and wildlife service (FWS) coastal tagging program, during the same period. Monitoring activities will include once-weekly setting and hauling of standard multi-panel gill nets on the defined spawning grounds of the rappahannock and james rivers. All captured striped bass will be returned to the laboratory for analysis of individual length, weight, SEX, and spawning condition. Otolith ages will be determined for all specimens and scale ages will be determined for a 20% subsample for comparison. Resulting data will be used to estimate standardized indices of relative abundance, analyze year-class strength, and characterize the spawning stocks in virginia. Tagging activities will utilize electrofishing equipment on as many days as weather conditions will permit until either the 1,000 fish target is met or the spawning season ends. All tagged fish will be examined for length and SEX (if SEX can be determined from external examination) and scales will be removed and analyzed according to standard procedures. This study is part of a long-term, coordinated coast-wide tagging program. Estimates of total survival, natural mortality, and fishing mortality will be generated by analyzing the tag-return data.both monitoring and tagging data will be supplied to the appropriate federal and state agencies, as well as the relevant interstate committees. Additionally, the tagging data will be sent to the FWS interstate tagging coordinator. The intended beneficiaries are the various striped bass management agencies and ultimately the commercial and recreational fishing communities.there are no subrecipient activities.