ABSTRACT 



The results of an investigation of the striped bass (Roccus saxatihs) of the Atlantic coast, 

 from April 1, 1936, to June 30, 1938, are discussed and the systematic characters of the 

 species described in detail on the basis of the literature and material afforded by fin-ray, 

 scale, and vertebral counts, and by measurements on more than 350 individuals. 



Studies on the fluctuations in abundance of this species over long-term periods show 

 that there has been a sharp decline in numbers. Dominant year-classes have at times 

 raised the level of abundance, but the intensity of the fishery is such that their effects have 

 been short lived. The dominant year-class of 1934 was the largest to be produced in the 

 past half century, although the parental stock was probably as low as it has ever been. 

 There is a good correlation between the production of dominant year-classes of striped 

 bass and below-the-mean temperatures during the periods before, of, and immediately 

 after the main spawning season. 



The striped bass is strictly coastal in its distribution from the Gulf of St. Lawrence 

 to the Gulf of Mexico, is anadromous, and spawns in spring. Sex ratios in northern waters 

 show that males seldom make up more than 10 percent of the population, while in waters 

 farther south the sex ratios are not so disproportionate. Females first mature as they 

 become 4 years old, males as they become 2 years old. This difference in age at maturity 

 may account for the small percentage of males in northern waters, for the time of the spawn- 

 ing season in the South coincides with the time of the spring coastal migration to the North, 

 which is made up mainly of immature females. The age and rate of growth have been 

 studied by scale analysis and the average sizes of the different age groups, and the growth 

 has been calculated to the eleventh year. 



Striped bass (3,937) have been tagged, and returns have shown that there is a striking 

 migration to the North in spring, and to the South in fall. The population in northern 

 waters in summer remains static. These migrations do not occur until the bass become 

 2 years old, and have their greatest intensity off the southern New England and Long Island 

 shores. There is little encroachment by the stock in the Middle Atlantic bight on the 

 populations in the North or South. 



The available evidence from general observation, tagging, and scale analysis points 

 to the conclusion that the dominant 1934 year-class originated chiefly in the latitude of 

 Cheasapeake and Delaware Bays, and that those fish born as far south as North Carolina 

 contribute directly only a relatively small fraction to the population summering in northern 

 waters. 



Stomach-content analyses show that bass are universal in their choice of food, a large 

 variety of fishes and Crustacea forming the main diet. It is suggested that the increased 

 bulk and availability of Menidia menidia notata in Connecticut waters late in summer and 

 early in fall are responsible for the increase in, or maintenance of the growth rate of striped 

 bass in this region despite the sharp drop in water temperature at this time. 



The parasites of the species are discussed and several new host records listed. It is 

 suggested that the bilateral cataracts in a high percentage of individuals bass in the Thames 

 River, Connecticut, are the result of a dietary deficiency. 



The decline in abundance of the striped bass of the Atlantic coast over long-term periods 

 and its causes are discussed from a theoretical point of view, and it is pointed out that the 

 present practice of taking a large proportion of the 2-year-olds annually is apparently not 

 an efficient utilization of the supply. It also is pointed out that both the fishery and the 

 stock would probably benefit from the protection of these fish until 3 years old, at which 

 time the average individual length is 41 cm. (16 inches), measured from tip of lower jaw 

 to fork of tail. 



