Striped bass ban to be discussed

A proposal to lift the 16-year-old ban on taking striped bass from the Savannah River this fall will be discussed at public meetings in March in Augusta and Savannah, Ga.

In 1988, Georgia's Wildlife Resources Division enacted a harvest moratorium for striped bass in the 210-mile lower Savannah River between Augusta and the coast. South Carolina adopted a similar law in 1991.

This fall, both states are considering a limited harvest program in which anglers would be permitted to keep two fish daily, with a 27-inch minimum length.

Two 7 p.m. public meetings are scheduled ñ March 9 in Savannah and March 10 in Augusta ñ to present and discuss this change. The Savannah meeting will be in the Eighth Air Force Museum; Augusta's meeting will be at Augusta Technical College, Building 600, Room 612.

Biologists have worked more than 15 years toward the restoration of stripers that almost vanished from the Savannah River in the 1970s, when construction projects disrupted fragile spawning grounds.

Although the population has increased, most striped bass in the river are hatchery-reared fish. Therefore, WRD plans to continue restoration and management efforts with supplemental stockings, natural recruitment assessments, and annual population surveys.

"We are very excited about the rebound in striped bass numbers in the Savannah River and are hopeful that the restoration efforts underway over the last decade are starting to take hold," said WRD Regional Fisheries Management Supervisor Matt Thomas.

For more information on the striped bass restoration project, proposed regulation change or for fishing information, visit www.gofishgeorgia.com or contact the Fisheries Management Office in Richmond Hill at (912) 727-2112.