2021 Roanoke River Striped Bass Harvest Season Opens
RALEIGH, N.C. – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission issued a reminder to anglers that the 2021 striped bass harvest season in the Roanoke River Management Area opens this Saturday. Harvest dates will be: April 10–16 in the lower river zone (downstream of the U.S. 258 Highway bridge at Scotland Neck to the mouth at Albemarle Sound). April 24–30 in the upper river zone (upstream of the U.S. 258 Highway bridge at Scotland Neck to the base of Roanoke Rapids Dam).
A proclamation outlining significant changes to the season was issued by the Wildlife Commission in January. Modifications to the framework became necessary when the harvest quota in the Roanoke River was reduced from 68,750 pounds to 12,800 pounds. The reduction was deemed a necessary conservation action intended to rebuild the striped bass population. Results from a 2020 stock assessment of the Roanoke River/Albemarle Sound conducted by the N.C. Divisio
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While the data also confirm that the state possesses the largest acreage of seagrass along the east coast of the United States, around 100,000 acres, the overall extent of seagrass meadows in the Albemarle-Pamlico estuary decreased by 5,686 acres or 5.6% between 2006 and 2013 despite the availability of suitable habitat for expansion of the resource. Seagrass is declining worldwide; North Carolina is experiencing annual rates of seagrass loss at or below the global average.
The observed decline in seagrass was not evenly distributed – within the southern end of the study area, which includes Back and Bogue Sounds, seagrass acreage decreased by 1.5% per year compared to a decline of 0.5% and 1.1% per year in the central and northern portions of the study area, respectively. It is likely that increased water pollution within the relatively highly-populated, densely-developed southern region contributed to its higher observed rate of seagrass decline.