[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 172 (Friday, September 5, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46950-46951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-23650]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 081797A]


Atlantic Striped Bass Fishery; 1996 Survey of Atlantic Striped 
Bass Fisheries

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of survey.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the availability and summarizes the results of 
a survey of the Atlantic coast striped bass fisheries for 1996. The 
Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act (Act), requires NMFS to provide 
information on the status of the fisheries.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the survey results are available from Anne Lange, 
NOAA/NMFS/FX2, 8484 Georgia Avenue, Suite 425, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anne Lange, (301) 427-2014.

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

[[Page 46951]]

following is a summary of the survey for 1996. Management measures that 
severely restricted the harvest of striped bass by commercial and 
recreational fisheries were further relaxed in 1996, as the stocks 
continued to rebuild.
    The 1996 commercial harvest of striped bass was 5,400,000 lb(2,449 
mt), an increase of 42 percent above the landings of 3,811,000 lb 
(1,729 mt) in 1995. The Chesapeake Bay area (Maryland, Virginia, and 
the Potomac River) accounted for 65 percent of the 1996 commercial 
landings, while Massachusetts and North Carolina accounted for 13 
percent and 8 percent, respectively.
    The recreational catch in 1996 was an estimated 14 million striped 
bass, of which 1.3 million were harvested; the remaining 12.7 million 
were released. The estimated weight of the recreational harvest was 
14.7 million lb (6,668 mt).
    Juvenile production varied among the producer areas, in 1996. In 
New York, the 1996 was lower than in 1995 but near the long term 
average. In Maryland and Virginia, the 1996 indices were the highest of 
their respective time-series, while the Delaware Bay index was the 
third highest on record. The North Carolina juvenile index increased in 
1996, from a relative low in 1995, to near record levels, as seen in 
1993 and 1994.
    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: August 28, 1997.
David L. Evans,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 97-23650 Filed 9-4-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F