GRANT: AGE COMPOSITION OF STRIPED BASS 



Table 3. — Age composition of striped bass caught by nonselective fishing gear in the 

 Rappahannock River within quarterly periods, July 1967-June 1971. 



DISCUSSION 



Seasonal and Annual Age Composition 

 of River Catches 



Seasonal variation in the age composition 

 of striped bass catches is slight (Tables 1-3) 

 when viewed over a sampling year begun in 

 July. Most of the seasonal variation occurs 

 among subdominant age groups, specifically 

 the appearance of young-of-the-year in the 

 fall and the annual return of older, mature 

 stocks in winter and spring. A year class that is 

 dominant in summer tends to remain dominant 

 through the following spring. Changes in 

 year class dominance from one year to another 

 usually occur in summer, so age group domi- 

 nance tends to remain constant. 



Annual differences in age composition, on 

 the other hand, can be striking. Although Age I 

 striped bass are expected to predominate in 

 pound net and fyke net catches, strong year 



classes may continue to dominate catches a 

 second year as Age II individuals. This occurred 

 in the Rappahannock River as a result of the 

 strong 1966 year class (Figure 2). 



The predominance of Age II striped bass 

 catches from the James River during three of 

 the four sampling years differs from the age 

 composition observed in the York and Rappa- 

 hannock rivers. Partial explanations are 

 available for two of these cases: 1) the 1965 

 year class dominated 1967-68 catches because 

 of the local failure of the 1966 year class (Grant 

 and Joseph. 1969); 2) the 1966 year class 

 dominated 1968-1969 catches after entering 

 the James from other rivers where it was an 

 unusually successful year class. 



The Virginia Fishery and 

 Cycles of Abundance 



The appearance of a dominant year class of 

 striped bass in Chesapeake Bay waters is 

 reflected in subsequent catches within the Bay 



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