Group formed in P.E.I. to fight for striped bass protection after DFO ups allowable catch
Increase to commercial fishery allocation from 50,000 to 175,000 'concerning,' says Striped Bass Association
A fisherman in Prince Edward Island is leading a new group aimed at protecting striped bass, a fish that has exploded in popularity across the province in recent years.
Mackenzie Sapier said tourists are even travelling to the Island to catch the "exciting" fish.
But he said the fish has been endangered in the past, and could be again — Fisheries and Oceans Canada has increased the number that can be caught commercially in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence area, from 50,000 to 175,000.
The Striped Bass Association's new P.E.I. chapter is one of several that have formed recently across the Maritimes and in the Gaspe region of Quebec.
"The commercial fishery allocation... concerned a lot of people. They upped it, they almost tripled it," said Sapier, who's from Tyne Valley. "That concerned a lot of us because we just don't want these fish to fall by the wayside, like they have in the past.
"They've been perpetually exploited. So we're kind of wanting to start a collective voice to fight for them."
According to DFO, the number of striped bass dropped in the mid-1990s to between 3,000 and 5,000. The fish was listened as threatened in 2004.
The Striped Bass Association estimated the population in 2024 to be around 350,000 in the southern gulf region.
Daily limit for recreational fishers also up
The daily limit for recreational fishers was also increased from three to four fish, each measuring between 50 and 65 cm. The rest must be released.
Sapier said that increase is also a concern, because no one knows exactly how many people are fishing striped bass.
"It's really hard to manage the population when... you're operating on not having certain parts of information," he said.
"I mean it's all good and well to have the commercial fishery [increased], but that coupled with no information of how many are being taken by locals is is scary."
Scientists with DFO monitor the spawning levels of striped bass in the Miramichi River.
As of December 2024, the population is considered to be in the "cautious zone," said DFO researcher Cindy Breau, who's based in Moncton.
"Certainly when a stock or a population is in the cautious zone, it indicates that we have to pay attention to how the stock is doing in terms of abundance," she said.
"We do know that the eggs in the spawners are fluctuating a lot from year to year, and therefore it means that we have to to pay close attention to what's what's occurring within the population."
Threat to Atlantic salmon?
Sapier said there is lots of misinformation about striped bass. They're sometimes called an invasive species, he said, but they're actually native to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
He said striped bass are also being blamed for the decline in Atlantic salmon in the Miramichi.
"There's a lot of problems that face the Atlantic salmon, which is unfortunate. But to us... it's not so clear that bringing a fish down to dangerous levels is a good idea to bring back another fish," Sapier said.
"All it takes is a couple bad years of spawns.... So it could possibly just decimate the population again. And we just can't have that."
The frequently asked questions page about striped bass on DFO's website also addresses the idea that the fish are to blame for the decline in Atlantic salmon.
"Recent studies on the predator-prey interaction between native striped bass and Atlantic salmon (smolts) in the Miramichi River do not provide enough evidence to predict that reducing the size of the striped bass population would lead to the recovery of salmon," the site reads.
Breau said striped bass are "generalist predators," meaning they eat just about anything that's within a certain size range.
"That includes many species that are commercially fished — like juvenile lobsters, smelt — or recreationally fished, for example Atlantic salmon," Breau said.
"So it is normal that striped bass eat other species. However, we have to keep in mind that these different species have coexisted for many, many years."
Striped bass supporters have a petition with about 6,500 names, and an online fundraiser to help with fees for a potential legal challenge to DFO's allocation increases.
DFO has said it will be announcing the 2025 management measures for striped bass in the spring.
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