Can Alternative Management of the Striped Bass Fishery in the Connecticut River Help Conserve Blueback Herring?

In the Connecticut River, annual returns of anadromous Blueback Herring (BBH) have drastically declined in the last two decades. Increased seasonal presence of Striped Bass (SB) over this period suggests that heavy in-river predation on adult BBH may be a contributing factor. If SB predation is depressing BBH production, then alternative management of in-river SB fisheries (i.e. regulations that encourage increased harvest) may facilitate BBH recovery. To quantitatively test these hypotheses, we conducted a five-year research program focused on BBH and SB populations, and the recreational fishery for SB in a portion of the Connecticut River below Holyoke, MA. We use data on BBH demography and life history as well as SB abundance, size structure and consumption rates to parameterize a structured population model of the BBH population that includes dynamic estimates of predation mortality. We then used information about angler effort and catch rates of SB to assess the potential reductions in SB abundance and BBH natural mortality that might be achieved under several regulatory scenarios. Finally we assessed improvement in future BBH population trajectories that might be realized under these hypothetical regulatory scenarios.