Maryland Striped Bass Reproduction Index Higher for 2026 but Below Average For Eighth Straight Year
For the 8th straight year the juvenile striped bass survey shows low spawning success – but at 5.5 was the highest index recorded since 2018. The survey tracks the reproductive success of Maryland’s state fish in the Chesapeake Bay. Biologists sample 22 sites in four major striped bass spawning areas are sampled three times each summer – the Choptank, Nanticoke and Potomac Rivers and the upper Chesapeake Bay. The survey captured 723 juvenile striped bass – with the highest performing areas the upper Bay and Choptank River and officials say while catchers were below average – they were more widely distributed than in recent years. That indicates suitable habitat throughout the nursery areas.
Additional information from MD DNR:
Biologists visit each site three times per summer, collecting fish with two sweeps of a 100-foot beach seine net. The index represents the average number of 3-inch or smaller juvenile striped bass caught in 132 sweeps of the net. The survey, one of the longest-running continuous fish surveys in the United States, has been conducted in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay since 1954.
This year’s survey captured 723 juvenile striped bass. The highest performing areas were the upper Bay and Choptank River. Although striped bass catches were below average, the fish were more widely distributed than in recent years, indicating suitable habitat throughout the nursery areas. The long-term average index for the survey is currently 10.8, while the index was 4.0 in 2025 and 2.0 in 2024.
These consecutive below-average year classes will likely become more apparent among the adult population of striped bass in the coming years, as the juveniles reach maturity. A benchmark stock assessment for the coastwide population of Atlantic striped bass is underway and expected to complete peer review in spring 2027. The stock assessment will evaluate the condition of striped bass from Maine to North Carolina and inform future management actions.