[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 33 (Friday, February 17, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 9324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4037]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 021095B]


Atlantic Striped Bass Fishery; 1993 Survey of Atlantic Striped 
Bass Fisheries

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Summary and notice of availability of survey results.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the availability and summarizes the results of 
a survey of the Atlantic coast striped bass fisheries for 1993. The 
Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act (the Act), requires NMFS to 
provide information on the status of the fisheries.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the survey results are available from William T. 
Hogarth, NOAA/NMFS/FCM3, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 14837 Silver 
Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William T. Hogarth, (301) 713-2347.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    The Act requires the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a comprehensive annual survey of the Atlantic 
striped bass fisheries. The following is a summary of the survey for 
1993. Management measures restricting the harvest of striped bass by 
commercial and recreational fisheries remained in place during 1993, as 
the stocks continue to rebuild.
    The 1993 commercial harvest of striped bass was 1,695,000 lb (769.5 
mt), an increase of 0.2 percent above the landings of 1,692,000 lb in 
1992. The Chesapeake Bay area (Maryland, Virginia, and the Potomac 
River) accounted for 72 percent of the 1993 commercial landings. The 
recreational catch in 1993 was an estimated 5.6 million striped bass, 
of which 561,000 were harvested; the remaining 5.1 million, were 
released alive. The estimated weight of the recreational harvest was 
6.7 million lb (2,986.1 mt), about four times that of the commercial 
harvest.
    Juvenile production in 1993 was above the long-term averages for 
Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware. Information from 
sampling the population of striped bass shows an increased relative 
abundance from recent year classes. Copies of the survey are available 
upon request (see ADDRESSES).

    Dated: February 13, 1995.
Richard H. Schaefer,
Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-4037 Filed 2-16-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F