KENDALL: BLACK SEA BASS LARVAE 



veys along the Atlantic coast is remarkable 

 (e.g., Merriman and Sclar, 1952; Wheatland, 

 1956; Richards, 1959; Massmann, Joseph, and 

 Norcross, 1962; Marak et al., 1962). Ichthyo- 

 plankton sampling in more enclosed areas, such 

 as Indian River, Del. (Pacheco and Grant, 1965) 

 and Sandy Hook Bay, N.J. (Croker, 1965), 

 has failed to reveal larvae. Juveniles (25- 

 75 mm) have been taken from saline areas of 

 estuaries from Florida (Tagatz, 1968), Mary- 

 land (Schwartz, 1961, 1964), Delaware (de 

 Sylva, Kalber, and Shuster, 1962), New York 

 (Perlmutter, 1939; Greeley, 1939; Richards, 

 1963), Rhode Island (Herman, 1963), and Mas- 

 sachusetts (Lux and Nichy, 1971). Bean (1888) 

 reported that young about 1 inch (25 mm) long 

 were common in Great Egg Harbor Bay, N.J., 

 and Nichols and Breder (1927) reported 20-mm 

 fish over oyster beds off Staten Island, N.Y., in 

 August. Massmann et al. (1962) found one 

 43-mm juvenile in the ocean off Virginia. 



Black sea bass spawn offshore along the coast 

 from Florida to New England. Spawning takes 

 place earlier in the southern part of the range 

 than in the northern part; in May off North 

 Carolina (Smith, 1907); in late May off Chesa- 

 peake Bay (Hildebrand and Schroeder, 1928); 

 and into early summer off southern New Eng- 

 land (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1953). At least 

 some of the young, less than 30 mm, enter open 

 estuaries near inlets where they spend their first 

 summer associated with hard bottoms such as 

 oyster shells (Nichols and Breder, 1927; Arve, 

 1960; Richards, 1963). Young leave the estu- 

 aries during fall and return during spring. 

 Enough return to estuaries in subsequent years 

 to support fisheries there. From references 

 made to black sea bass abundance around the 

 turn of the century (Bean, 1888; Smith, 1898; 

 Sherwood and Edwards, 1901), it seems that 

 present stocks in the northern part of the range 

 are diminished. This decrease in abundance may 

 be associated with decrease in oyster beds (Arve, 

 1960). Commercial catch records show recent 

 catches near the historical mean, but indicate 

 a shift in abundance from the New York-Dela- 

 ware to the Chesapeake region (Lyles, 1967). 



Our data on offshore occurrences of larvae 

 complement work in estuaries where early stages 



have been found. However, a definitive picture 

 of the early life history of this species is still 

 lacking. The small numbers of larvae taken in 

 this survey do not seem consistent with the pop- 

 ulation size and extent of adult black sea bass 

 along the coast. Possibly we sampled in a year 

 when spawning was unsuccessful or our sam- 

 pling was not effective for capturing black sea 

 bass larvae in proportion to their abundance. 



The pelagic existence of this fish is short. 

 Larvae longer than 13 mm were not taken, pre- 

 sumably because near that size they assume de- 

 mersal or estuarine habits. Few of these late 

 larvae and early juveniles have been collected, 

 and it is still not known what part of the pop- 

 ulation may enter estuarine waters and what 

 part remains at sea. The routes and mechanisms 

 of larval transport from spawning grounds to 

 nursery areas are also unknown. 



The known seasonal distribution of larvae 

 shows that black sea bass spawn over a long 

 period. The range of juvenile sizes taken in 

 individual samples also indicates a long spawn- 

 ing season. Details of the suggested northward 

 progression of spawning need clarification. In- 

 tensive sampling of the water column and bot- 

 tom offshore, at inlets, and in open estuaries 

 could resolve these deficiencies in our knowledge 

 of black sea bass life history. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Ahlstrom, E. H., and 0. P. Ball. 



1954. Description of eggs and larvae of jack mack- 

 erel {TracJucrus symmetriciis) and distribution 

 and abundance of larvae in 1950 and 1951. U.S. 

 Fish Wildl. Serv., Fish. Bull. 56:209-245. 

 Arve, J. 



1960. Preliminary report on attracting fish by 

 oyster-shell plantings in Chincoteague Bay, Mary- 

 land. Chesapeake Sci. 1:58-65. 

 Bean, T. H. 



1888. Report on the fishes observed in Great Egg 

 Harbor Bay, New Jersey, during the summer of 

 1887. Bull. U.S. Fish Comm. 7:129-154 Plates 

 MIL 

 Bertolini, F. 



1933. Uova, larvae e stadi giovanili di teleostei: 

 familia 2: Serranidae. Fauna e flora del Golfo 

 di Napoli, Monogr. 38:310-331, Plates 20-21. 



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