Review of striped bass monitoring programs in the central southern management area, North Carolina, 2013

REVI EW OF STRI PED BASS MONITORI NG PROGRAMS I N THE CENTRAL SOUTHERN MANAGEMENT AREA, NORTH CAROLI NA- 2013 Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Project F-108 Final Report Justin C. Dycus Kirk R. Rundle Benjamin R. Ricks North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Division of Inland Fisheries Raleigh 2014 Keywords: Striped Bass, Central Southern Management Area, electrofishing, scale age, spawning stock, CPUE, coastal region This project was funded under the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Program utilizing state fishing license money and federal grant funds derived from federal excise taxes on fishing tackle and other fishing related expenditures. Funds from the Sport Fish Restoration Program are used for fisheries management and research, aquatic education, and boating access facilities. The program is administered cooperatively by the N.C Wildlife Resources Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Sen/ice. Abstract.— Electrofishing surveys for Striped Bass Morone saxatilis were conducted on the spawning grounds of the Tar, Neuse, and Cape Fear rivers in coastal North Carolina. Striped Bass were collected in spring 2013 from each system to describe relative abundance, size distribution, age and growth, and sex composition. Tar River relative abundance of Striped Bass pooled across all sampling dates was 33.2 fish/h and was primarily supported by two year classes (2008 and 2009). Age-4 males from the 2009 year class made the highest contribution (27.7%) to the catch in 2013, and CPUE for this cohort was 9.6 fish/h. Eight year classes of females were observed in the Tar River survey and comprised 22.3% of the 2013 sample. Neuse River relative abundance across all sampling dates was 13.2 fish/h and was represented by a total of eight year classes. Age-4 males from the 2009 year class made the highest contribution (29.3%) to the catch in 2013, and CPUE for this cohort was 5.1 fish/h. Cape Fear River relative abundance of Striped Bass pooled across 11 sampling weeks was 6.4 fish/h. Striped Bass CPUE peaked during mid-May with 54.4% (n=56) offish collected between May 7 and May 14. Female Striped Bass comprised 28.8% of the 2013 sample with the majority from the 2006 (age 7) and 2007 (age 6) year classes. The majority of male Striped Bass collected in 2013 were from the 2010 (age 3) year class. Truncated length and age distributions along with the absence of older fish in all three river systems suggests that mortality continues to hinder stock recovery within the CSMA and continued management efforts to improve stock characteristics are needed. 1