Update of spawner abundance and biological characteristics of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence to 2021

Abstract

The Striped Bass population of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence had declined to less than 5,000 spawners in the late 1990s and subsequently increased to over 900,000 spawners by 2017. Due to conservation concerns, the commercial fishery closed in 1996 and the recreational and Indigenous fisheries for Striped Bass were closed in 2000. A small number of food, social, and ceremonial (FSC) fisheries were reinstated in 2012 and allocations of Striped Bass to Indigenous groups have gradually increased since then. The recreational fishery reopened in 2013 and a pilot Indigenous commercial fishery began in 2018. As the fisheries management measures were responsive to changes in abundance of the southern Gulf Striped Bass population, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Gulf Ecosystems and Fisheries Management branch requested an update on the size of the spawning stock and information on biological characteristics to 2021. This Science Response Report results from the Regional Science Response Process of December 14, 2021 on the Determination of spawner abundance, age class distribution and biological characteristics for striped bass for 2021.