STUDIES ON THE STRIPED BASS OF THE ATLANTIC COAST 



17 



shown in figure 10. 7 Curran and Ries (1937) in describing the capture of juvenile 

 striped bass in the Hudson River, say: 



During the survey few adults but many juvenile striped bass were taken throughout the stretch 

 of river from the city of Hudson to New York. Collections of young for the year were taken first 

 on July 20 in Newburgh Bay. At this time they were 2 inches in length and later study of their 

 scales proved that they were 1936 fish. From Newburgh to Yonkers, about 35 miles downstream, 

 they were found in considerable numbers. Gravelly beaches seemed to be the preferred habitat 

 as few were taken over other types of bottom. In night seining over the gravel they were found to 

 be associated with herring and white perch while daytime hauls showed the herring replaced by 

 shad. Nearly every seine haul in which young striped bass were caught brought in white perch 

 as well. 



The chlorine as chlorides ranged from 10.0-8,560.0 parts per million (water of low 

 salinity) over this stretch of the Hudson River (Biological Survey (1936), 1937). 

 Larger individuals — up to 2 pounds — have been taken in the Hudson asj,far up as 

 Albany. There can be little doubt, therefore, that the Hudson River is a spawning 

 area for striped bass. Their capture by commercial fishermen in April and May in 

 this region, and the not uncommon reports of ripe individuals at this time of year, is 

 added evidence that spawning takes place in the spring in water that is at least 

 brackish and perhaps entirely fresh. 



On August 4, 1937, the author took three small striped bass in the Parker River, 

 near Newburyport, Mass. These fish were 7.1, 7.6, and 8.5 cm. long, and subsequent 



LEN5IM 



MILLIMETERS 



Figure 10.— Length-frequency curve of juvenile striped bass from the Hudson River, July 3 lo Sept. 1, 1936. The number of fish 

 making up this curve is 628. The data have been smoothed by threes. The great majority of these fish were taken in late 

 August (see Table 7 for original measurements). 



examination of their scales showed them to be juveniles. They were taken about 6 

 miles from the mouth of the river and about 2 miles below the Byfield Woolen Mills, 

 where a dam prevents anadromous fishes from going further upstream. The bottom, 

 on which these fish were seined was mostly mud and sand, with little gravel and a 

 few scattered rocks. The salinity at this point was 10.23 parts per 1,000, and the 

 water temperature at the surface was 25.5° C. and at the bottom 24.8° C. (ebb tide, 

 one-third out). The depth of the river in this area at this time was 8 feet, and the 

 width 40-50 feet. Other fish found in association with these juvenile striped bass 

 were juvenile white perch {Morone americana) , and various Clupeoid species; snapper 

 bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) were also included in seine hauls in this region. The 

 Parker River is free from pollution and is strongly tidal all the way to the Byfield 

 Woolen Mills, where a large amount of fresh water empties into it, particularly in the 

 spring. From this point down, the river winds through the Rowley marshes and 

 eventually empties into Plum Island Sound. It has steep sides, and the rise and fall 

 of the tide along the better part of its length is 5-6 feet. The failure to catch more 

 small striped bass in this river, despite several attempts, is probably best explained by 

 the great difficulty of seining in such an area. The steep sides of the banks and the 

 fast tidal current both make it next to impossible to handle a seine efficiently along 



1 The entire collection of striped bass made by the members of the Biological Survey in 1936 was placed at theauthor's disposal in 

 February 1938 by Dr. Dayton Stoner, State Zoologist of the New York State Museum at Albany. N. Y. Further than this, Dr. 

 Moore, Chief Aquatic Biologist of the New York Conservation Department, and other members of the staff, gave the author much 

 t n format ion regarding the capture of small bass in the Hudson River, before the results of the Biological Survey of 1936 were published. 



