Striped bass spawning in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay improved in 2026, but once again the result still falls well short of the historical average.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced on October 19 that its 2026 juvenile striped bass survey produced a young-of-year index of 5.5. That’s the best number since 2018 (a step up from 4.0 in 2025 and 2.0 in 2024), but it is still the eighth straight year below the long-term average of 10.8.
DNR biologists have run the survey since 1954, during which it has proved to be a reliable indicator of future striped bass abundance. Crews sampled 22 sites in four spawning areas: the Choptank, Nanticoke, and Potomac rivers, plus the upper Chesapeake Bay. Each site was visited three times over the summer, with two sweeps of a 100-foot beach seine on each visit. Biologists found juveniles spread more widely than in recent years, which suggests good nursery habitat across the system even though overall numbers were low.
The DNR suggested regional drought and low river flows as likely factors in the poor spawn. Low flows may have hurt egg and larval survival, and a short spawning window may have played a part as well. Cold winters and wet springs usually favor a strong spawn, and after the cold winter of 2025-2026, anglers and managers were hopeful for a better spawn.
Virginia Reported an Average Year Class
Also today, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science reported an average year class. Its numbered 9.52 juveniles per seine haul, up from 5.12 in 2025 and above the historical average of 7.77. VIMS scientists sampled 18 index sites in the James, York, and Rappahannock river systems five times between mid-June and early September.
This is welcome news, but most of the Chesapeake Bay’s spawning habitat is in Maryland waters, including the upper Bay, Susquehanna Flats, Choptank, Nanticoke, and Potomac. Maryland’s waters are estimated to account for at least two-thirds of the striped bass produced in the Bay, and after eight years of below-average spawns there, one average year in Virginia’s smaller tributaries won’t make up for that.
