STUDIES ON THE STRIPED BASS (Roccus saxatilis) 

 OF THE ATLANTIC COAST 1 



By Daniel Merriman, Osborn Zoological Laboratory, Yale University, formerly Temporary 

 Investigator, Fish and Wildlife Service 1 



CONTENTS 



Pago 



Introduction 1 



Acknowledgments 2 



Description of the striped bass 2 



Size and range of the striped bass 4 



Review of the literature on the life history 



of the striped bass 5 



Fluctuations in abundance of the striped 



bass V 



Spawning habits and early life history 



of the striped bass 15 



Sex and age at maturity 20 



Page 



Age and rate of growth 22 



Migrations.. 33 



Origin of the dominant 1934 year-class 46 



Food of the striped bass 52 



Parasites and abnormalities of the striped 



bass 55 



Discussion 56 



Recommendations 62 



Summary and conclusions 63 



Tables 66 



Bibliography 75 



INTRODUCTION 



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 limitod area. The American Wildlife Institute generously contributed a sub- 

 stantial 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 investiga- 

 tion for a full year from that date, and the State Board of Fisheries and Game appro- 

 priated 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 June 30, 1940, by consolidation of the Bureau of Fisheries and the 

 Bureau of Biological Survey. 



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