Maine sport fishermen are hailing regulators' decision to reject a plan to expand commercial fishing for striped bass. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted 8 to 6 Monday against a plan that would have opened the door to bigger catches in Chesapeake Bay and other areas south of Maine, according to the Portland Press Herald.

The proposal would have allowed states with commercial striped bass fisheries to carry over unused quotas from year to year. Scientists told regulators that the striped bass population is healthy, but anglers in Maine told the paper that they're seeing fewer of the sport fish.

Maine doesn't allow stripers to be fished commercially, but last year, Maine sport fishermen caught about 49,000 stripers, a 31 percent drop from the previous year. Anglers told the paper they had a hard time catching the fish this year.

Some blame that on commercial fishing for stripers in Chesapeake Bay, the primary spawning and nursery ground for stripers caught in Maine, the paper reports. Stripers in the bay have also been hit with an unknown bacterial disease that's been linked to a decline of the fish.