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Survey Indicates Striper Numbers Up

February 2004
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A young-of-the-year net survey conducted by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources has found that a record number of juvenile striped bass were born in upper Chesapeake Bay last summer. The average haul was 25.8 baby stripers per survey site, more than double the long-term average of 11.9 and the highest count since 1970. For the study, biologists collected 3,399 young-of-the-year striped bass from the fresh water estuaries where they are born. Heavy spring rains and cooler than average temperatures are credited for last year’s bumper crop of baby striped bass. The program, which has been in place since 1954, collects and counts young striped bass from 22 survey sites on four major spawning rivers. For more information, visit www.dnr.state.md.us.
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