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California DFG
January 7, 2002
Striped Bass Stamp Requirement Renewed as Population Continues Rebound
Contact: Heather McIntire, Associate Biologist, Central Valley Bay Delta Branch, (209) 948-7800
SACRAMENTO — Under legislation signed by Gov. Gray Davis that took effect on Tuesday, Jan.1, 2002, the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will continue to sell Striped Bass Stamps for an additional two years. The extension, which runs through Jan. 1, 2004, provides continued funding for restoration efforts for this recovering sport species.
Gov. Davis signed Assembly Bill 1673 in October, which extended the requirement that anglers fishing for striped bass have a Striped Bass Stamp affixed to their normal fishing license. The price of Striped Bass Stamps remains the same at $3.70 from authorized license agents and $3.50 from most DFG offices.
The stamp was established in 1982 to provide funding to address a decline in the abundance of adult striped bass which began in the 1960s and was obvious by the late 1970s. Several factors are thought to have contributed to the decline, which persisted into the mid-1990s, including juvenile fish losses at delta water diversions, reduced river outflow, changes in the estuary's food web, pollution, and poaching.
Authorization for the stamp was due to expire on Jan. 1, 2002. Sales of Striped Bass Stamps generate about $1 million annually which has historically supported striped bass monitoring and research, enhanced law enforcement, and the rearing and stocking of juvenile striped bass in the estuary. In recent years stocked striped bass have made up 2 percent to 6 percent of the adult population in the San Francisco Bay-Delta region. DFG has been assisted in deciding how to expend stamp revenues by the Striped Bass Stamp Fund Advisory Committee, a group appointed by DFG Director Robert C. Hight.
Projects funded from stamp purchases and other sources - along with improved environmental conditions in the San Francisco Bay-Delta region - have increased the population of adult striped bass from about 600,000 in 1994 to nearly 2 million in 2000.
By agreement with the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, DFG has suspended stocking of striped bass in the San Francisco Bay-Delta to ensure that the recovery of the bass population does not inhibit the recovery of native species such as delta smelt and winter-run chinook salmon. Stocking is likely to continue in San Luis Reservoir and other inland water bodies with existing striped bass populations. Under the two-year extension provided by the legislation, DFG and the advisory committee will identify projects that significantly benefit the striped bass population, yet protect threatened and endangered native species. Several types of projects meet this general criteria and are being explored at this time, including restoration of habitats and ecological processes and enhance fisheries law enforcement in the Bay-Delta system.
The striped bass was introduced to California in the late 1870s and early 1880s when a few hundred young striped bass were transported from the East Coast and released in San Francisco Bay. Within 10 years the species had established itself and supported a commercial fishery of over a million pounds per year. The commercial fishery was terminated in 1935 in response to pressure from sport fishing interests. Adult striped bass abundance peaked in the early 1960s at nearly 4.5 million fish.
January 7, 2002
Striped Bass Stamp Requirement Renewed as Population Continues Rebound
Contact: Heather McIntire, Associate Biologist, Central Valley Bay Delta Branch, (209) 948-7800
SACRAMENTO — Under legislation signed by Gov. Gray Davis that took effect on Tuesday, Jan.1, 2002, the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will continue to sell Striped Bass Stamps for an additional two years. The extension, which runs through Jan. 1, 2004, provides continued funding for restoration efforts for this recovering sport species.
Gov. Davis signed Assembly Bill 1673 in October, which extended the requirement that anglers fishing for striped bass have a Striped Bass Stamp affixed to their normal fishing license. The price of Striped Bass Stamps remains the same at $3.70 from authorized license agents and $3.50 from most DFG offices.
The stamp was established in 1982 to provide funding to address a decline in the abundance of adult striped bass which began in the 1960s and was obvious by the late 1970s. Several factors are thought to have contributed to the decline, which persisted into the mid-1990s, including juvenile fish losses at delta water diversions, reduced river outflow, changes in the estuary's food web, pollution, and poaching.
Authorization for the stamp was due to expire on Jan. 1, 2002. Sales of Striped Bass Stamps generate about $1 million annually which has historically supported striped bass monitoring and research, enhanced law enforcement, and the rearing and stocking of juvenile striped bass in the estuary. In recent years stocked striped bass have made up 2 percent to 6 percent of the adult population in the San Francisco Bay-Delta region. DFG has been assisted in deciding how to expend stamp revenues by the Striped Bass Stamp Fund Advisory Committee, a group appointed by DFG Director Robert C. Hight.
Projects funded from stamp purchases and other sources - along with improved environmental conditions in the San Francisco Bay-Delta region - have increased the population of adult striped bass from about 600,000 in 1994 to nearly 2 million in 2000.
By agreement with the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, DFG has suspended stocking of striped bass in the San Francisco Bay-Delta to ensure that the recovery of the bass population does not inhibit the recovery of native species such as delta smelt and winter-run chinook salmon. Stocking is likely to continue in San Luis Reservoir and other inland water bodies with existing striped bass populations. Under the two-year extension provided by the legislation, DFG and the advisory committee will identify projects that significantly benefit the striped bass population, yet protect threatened and endangered native species. Several types of projects meet this general criteria and are being explored at this time, including restoration of habitats and ecological processes and enhance fisheries law enforcement in the Bay-Delta system.
The striped bass was introduced to California in the late 1870s and early 1880s when a few hundred young striped bass were transported from the East Coast and released in San Francisco Bay. Within 10 years the species had established itself and supported a commercial fishery of over a million pounds per year. The commercial fishery was terminated in 1935 in response to pressure from sport fishing interests. Adult striped bass abundance peaked in the early 1960s at nearly 4.5 million fish.
