The striped bass population has grown from 5,000 to 1M+, whereas a population with a LRP of 30,000 and a target of 100,000 spawners is adequate to maintain a healthy ecosystem.
Striped bass eat salmon smolts as they migrate to the ocean. The dramatic increase in the striped bass population has resulted in decreased survival rate of smolts, from 70 percent to less than 10 percent in the SWM and 3 percent in the NWM.
For further details, please see the attached links:
MSA – Recovery Strategy 2020
Ministers Report 2015
Predators cause salmon populations in Miramichi River to hit record low.