John Tiedemann, assistant dean in the School of Science and director of the Marine and Environmental Biology Policy program, is featured in the epilogue of, “Seasons of the Striper: Pursuing the Great American Gamefish,” authored by William Sisson, with a foreword by Peter Kaminsky.
The collection of essays and photographs follows the saltwater sport fish through each season along the Atlantic coast and the anglers who pursue them, while the epilogue discusses striped bass conservation and management and focuses on aiding the overfished species through new rules enacted by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the interstate body that manages stripers.
“My whole focus for the last 10 years has been to try and help anglers understand more about the resource and what they as individuals can do to promote the healthiest fish possible when they release it. From a long-term sustainability perspective, we’re allowing a fish to mature and to spawn at least once or twice before it’s taken,” Tiedemann said.
Throughout the epilogue, Tiedemann details his support of the slot limit for recreational anglers, which protects larger female fish, who produce more eggs, by allowing anglers to keep one fish a day, between 28-35 inches. He also explains his double-edge sword recovery lesson of rebuilding the stocks, followed by relaxing regulations, and then the start of overfishing again and how this impacts the species overall. Tiedemann additionally discusses other challenges including poor water quality and environmental conditions.
A list of suggestions to help boost survival rates of striped bass curated by Tiedemann is also included in the epilogue.
