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

The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5 awarded the Virginia Marine Resources Commission $235,718 on December 1, 2025, under the Sport Fish Restoration program (CFDA 15.605) to conduct striped bass population assessment and tagging on Virginia spawning grounds through October 31, 2026.

The recipient will monitor the abundance, size, and sex of striped bass during the spring spawning season on the Rappahannock and James Rivers through once-weekly gill net surveys. 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, with scale ages determined for a 20 percent subsample for comparison. The resulting data will estimate standardized indices of relative abundance, analyze year-class strength, and characterize Virginia's spawning stocks.

Concurrently, the recipient will tag approximately 1,000 legal-sized striped bass (457 millimeters and larger) using electrofishing equipment in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Tagging Program. Tagged fish will be examined for length and sex, and scales will be removed and analyzed according to standard procedures. Analysis of tag-return data will generate estimates of total survival, natural mortality, and fishing mortality. Both monitoring and tagging data will be supplied to federal and state agencies, interstate committees, and the FWS Interstate Tagging Coordinator.

The award is a formula grant funded by excise taxes on motorboat fuel, electric motors, and fishing equipment, as well as import duties on fishing tackle and yachts, which are deposited into the Sport Fish Restoration Trust Fund and apportioned to state agencies under a legislatively established formula.

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 interstatecommittees. 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. The virginia institute of marine science is the only subrecipient.