DURHAM, N.H. (AP) — Striped bass are starting to arrive in New Hampshire's coastal waters, and the state wants to figure out how many are out there.
To help state and federal fisheries biologists assess the status of the population, the state Fish and Game Department is asking anglers to participate in an online volunteer survey.
Participants are asked to measure each fish they catch. The survey is the only method the department currently has to get length measurements on fish that are released.
There's been a survey since 1993. The information is used in an annual coast-wide stock assessment for striped bass.
The Coastal Conservation Association of New Hampshire, which has been supporting the survey and distributed it since 2000, donates a signed and framed first-of-state bass print annually.
Anglers fishing for striped bass or other finfish in New Hampshire's coastal or estuarine waters need an $11 saltwater recreational fishing license.
The survey can be found at www.fishnh.com.
