Catch Info:

• Method:
  Gillnets and Entangling Nets
• Gear:
  Gillnets and entagling nets (unspecified)

View details of SeafoodWatch Catch Methods

Description:

Rockfish, known as striped bass outside of the mid-Atlantic region, has white meat with a delicate flavor and large flake. In many places, rockfish is classified as a gamefish and only recreational harvest is permitted. Maryland and Virginia still allow commercial harvest in state waters.

Striped bass are found along the Atlantic coast of Canada and the United States, including the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Atlantic striped bass fishery is a prime example of a fishery management success story. The striped bass population was heavily overfished in the 1970s and 1980s. Strict regulations have allowed the population to rebuild to a very healthy level. The primary gear used in the commercial striped bass fishery is gillnet. Other gears include pound nets, haul seines and hook and line. All of these gears are stationary and have little interaction with the sea floor. Hook and line fisheries generally have very little bycatch, whereas gillnets, pound nets and haul seines can interact with and capture marine mammals, sea birds, sea turtles, and other fish. There is not enough data on bycatch in the striped bass fishery, but what data exists suggests that bycatch is low, even in the net fisheries.

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