It just became a lot tougher for recreational fishermen to keep the striped bass they catch.

That’s because an emergency action plan implemented by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to address what it calls the alarming decline of Atlantic striped bass will significantly decrease the size range of fish that do not have to be released.

“This will impact all recreational fishers, whether it’s charter or whether it’s private anglers,” said Emilie Franke, fishery management plan coordinator for ASMFC.

The ASMFC announced the plan on May 3, which implements a 31-inch maximum size limit for the fish, also known as striper, due to a massive shift in projections for the sustainability of the species.

Previously, recreational fishermen could keep fish between 28 and 35 inches. The emergency action plan will narrow that range to 28 to 31 inches.

ASMFC is an interstate commission charged with the management and conservation of 27 species of fish from Maine to North Carolina within state waters, which extend out to the three-mile boundary with federal waters. Federal waters have been closed to striper fishing since 1990.

The press release said that the 2022 recreational harvest of the fish, which accounts for the majority of striper harvest, was double the prior year, and the projected likelihood of rebuilding the species breeding stock, already under pressure from overfishing, by 2029 plummeted from 97% to 15% if nothing was done to curb the harvest.

“And so, with that information of that large increase in harvest and these new projections, saying that we had a much lower chance of rebuilding, the board decided that emergency action was warranted,” she said.

Franke explained that the 28 to 35-inch range corresponds to stripers that are seven to eight years old, and just beginning to breed, and by reducing the catch of those fish, the ASMFC hopes to promote the reproductive capacity of the fish population by allowing more of the larger, older fish to survive and reproduce.

Charter boats worried

Captain Mike Stepski, who captains a charter fishing boat for Tartan II Fishing, which operates recreational and charter fishing trips out of Niantic, said on Monday that the plan may impact many charter operations.

“The problem with us is our business depends on it. These people come knowing that they can have the chance to catch these fish,” he said.

He said that there are many different types of fish that their customers can fish for, like fluke, black sea bass, or bluefish, but stripers are the main draw.

“When people come to New England, they want to try striped bass on the grill because it’s the most talked about fish in the world. It’s the biggest game fish there is, especially around here,” he said.

He worries that people will decide it is not worth the trip, where they risk not catching a fish they can keep, which will impact his business this season.

“Sometimes in the past, they’ve done different regs for charter boats and I really hope they consider that with us, just because it’s such a struggle nowadays, you know, with the price of everything and the inflation and stuff,” he said adding that an impact to his business has a much broader impact than people realize.

“They’ve really got to go a little easier here, not so extreme,” said Stepski.

He said charter fishing helps support many small businesses and the community through the purchase of bait and tackle, maintenance costs, and the thousands of people the local industry brings to town every year who spend their money locally.

According to Franke, the ASMFC board acknowledged there would be an economic impact from the plan, but failed to pass a motion exempting the “for hire” charter industry, because the majority of the board did not want to see different regulations for recreational fishermen and charter operations.

The emergency plan is effective immediately and extends for six months, with the possibility of additional six-month extensions.

Four virtual public hearings will be held on the emergency action plan, though the comments made during them will not impact the plan. The first hearing will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on May 17.

More information and a schedule of public hearings can be found at asmfc.org.