Fishery bulletin of the Fish and Wildlife Service - NOAA

STUDIES ON THE STRIPED BASS (Rqccus saxatilis)
OF THE ATLANTIC COAST 1
By DANIEL MEHHIMAN, Osborn Zoological Laboratory, Yale University, formerly Temporary
Investigator, Fish and Wildlife Service 1
Introduction
Acknowledgments
Description of the striped bass
Size and range of the striped bass
Review of the literature on the life history
of the striped bass
Fluctuations in abundance of the striped
bass
Spawning habits and early life history
of the striped bass
Sex and age at maturity
CONTENTS
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INTRODUCTION
Age and rate of growth
Migrations. .
Origin of the dominant 1934 year-class
Food of the striped bass
Parasites and abnormalities of the striped
bass
Discussion
Recommendations
Summary and conclusions
Tables
Bibliography
The following account of the life history and habits of the striped bass (Roccus
saxatilis) is the result of an investigation originally sponsored by the Connecticut
State Board of Fisheries and Game, and undertaken by the author.
The main objectives of this investigation, throughout its entire course, were to
obtain information on the life history and habits of the striped bass, to study the
fluctuations in abundance of this species and their causes, and to accumulate material
on the effect of the fishery—both commercial and sporting—on the present supply.
The striped bass investigation was begun on April 1, 1936, and was concluded
on June 30, 1938. Its headquarters have been the Osborn Zoological Laboratory,
Yale University, New Haven, Conn., and, during the summer months, the Niantic
River, Conn.—an area where this species is more easily available for study than
elsewhere in the immediate vicinity. During the first 3 months the work was financed
by a group of Connecticut sportsmen. The Connecticut State Board of Fisheries
and Game then supported the investigation through December 31, 1937, and also
supplied much of the equipment essential to the progress of the work. By that time
it had become apparent, as a result of tagging experiments, that the striped bass was
a highly migratory species, and that therefore the problem was essentially coastwise
in its scope. Clearly the objectives could not be accomplished satisfactorily by studies
in one limited area. The American Wildlife Institute generously contributed a substantial
sum in March 1937 when a break in the continuity of the work would have
been a severe blow to its progress, and thus made it possible for the investigation to
extend its scope to include a large portion of the Atlantic coast. On July 1, 1937,
the United States Bureau of Fisheries insured the financial backing of the investigation
for a full year from that date, and the State Board of Fisheries and Game appropriated
a sufficient amount for the continuation of the work within Connecticut.
' The Fishery Bulletin of the Fish and Wildlife Service is a continuation of the Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries, which ended
with vol. 49. The Fish and Wildlife Service was established on Juno 30, 1940, by consolidation of the Bureau of Fisheries and the
Bureau of Biological Survey.
277Б89—41- 1
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