Stripers are back in Maine waters and we want to remind you that Snap-A-Striper (SAS), the striped bass research project on which CCA-Maine and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) are collaborating, is on again for 2015. We need your help to make this important conservation project successful!
The SAS program is designed to further striped bass research in Maine by encouraging anglers from Boothbay to Kittery to take fish photos (with special downloadable data cards in place) of stripers that are released and those that are legally harvested and email those photos to GMRI. Scientists at GMRI will use the photos as well as otoliths (ear bones) taken from the heads of harvested fish to analyze the morphometrics (body shape) of stripers caught in Maine and determine the origin of those fish – whether they are “resident” fish spawned in the Kennebec River or migratory fish spawned in more southerly waters. This is important information that could lead to better management of Maine’s striped bass resource in the future.
The following attachments explain how SAS works and how you can play a key role in this ongoing fishery science program. Many thanks for your help!
*How to Join the Snap-A-Striper program
Note: if printing your own data cards, be sure to turn off print scaling in your pdf reader. If you continue to have problems, please contact us at ccamaine@gmail.com.
