Mystic - A larger legal size and smaller catch limit for striped bass are likely to be enacted later this week during a meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the 15-state panel that regulates 25 near-shore marine species.

The commission, meeting this week at the Mystic Hilton, will vote on how to reduce the harvest of striped bass along the East Coast at its session Wednesday. The 160-member panel is meeting in Connecticut for the first time in 15 years.

David Simpson, director of marine fisheries for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and a member of the commission, said Monday that commission has been deliberating for several months to find the best way to reduce the commercial and recreational catch of striped bass by 25 percent. The process included several public hearings, including one in Old Lyme attended by about 75 people. Owners of charter boats and recreational fishermen are among groups most concerned with both preserving striped bass populations without making the new restrictions overly severe, he said. Connecticut prohibits commercial striped bass fishing.

About 15 years ago, Simpson said, striped bass populations were so abundant there was concern they were depleting other species they preyed upon.

"But in the last five or six years, there has been less than stellar reproduction, and the catch rates have been low," Simpson said. "People who fish for striped bass want to see more fish in the population."

One of the actions the commission is considering would result in a larger legal size and a reduction of the catch limit to one fish per day, Simpson said. The current legal size in Connecticut is 28 inches and two fish per day. The season would remain open year-round.

The action the commission takes on Wednesday would take effect in January, Simpson said.

DEEP Environmental Conservation Col. Kyle Overturf, member of the commission's law enforcement committee, said he advocating that the new striped bass regulations be "easily enforced, and something the sportsmen can easily understand."

During welcoming remarks at a reception at Mystic Aquarium, DEEP Commissioner Rob Klee noted that among the many issues that would be taken up over the four-day meeting, the vote on striped bass and another on eel are of the greatest interest to Connecticut. The commission voted Monday to take steps to reduce the commercial harvest of both glass (juvenile) and yellow (sexually immature adult) eel to shore up declining populations. Other species to be taken up on the lengthy agenda include lobster, black sea bass, horseshoe crabs, black drum, coastal shark, spiny dogfish, tautog and northern shrimp.

"Thank you for the important work the commission does to strike the balance between a successful commercial and recreational fishing industry and viable fish populations," Klee said.

j.benson@theday.com

Twitter: @BensonJudy