36 FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



The external disc tag method of marking striped bass, however, has two definite 

 disadvantages. These are that the evidence from the recapture of fish tagged by 

 this means shows that the discs do not usually stay on for periods much over 1 year; 

 probably because the pins "migrate" toward the dorsal contour of the fish and are 

 eventually sloughed off, and that it is impractical to tag bass less than 8 inches long 

 with discs and pins of the sizes given above. The internal belly tag devised by Nesbit 

 (1934b) has therefore been used on small striped bass (see fig. 25). Since this type 

 of tag has been used successfully over long-term periods with small weakfish (Cynoscion 

 regalis), herring (Clvpea pallasii), and other species, it seemed logical to expect that 

 it was applicable to juvenile and yearling striped bass. This tag consisted of a piece 

 of bright red celluloid 0.030 inch thick, 1% 6 inches long, and % inch wide, with well- 

 rounded ends. One side of the tag bore the number, and the other side the words 

 RETURN TO STATE BOARD OF FISHERIES AND GAME, HARTFORD, 

 CONN., in black print. The printing was made on 0.020-inch opaque red celluloid, 

 and a 0.005-inch transparent celluloid was cemented to each side so that the numbers 

 and legends were well protected. This type of tag was inserted and carried in the 

 body cavity. A small incision was made in the side of the body wall, % to 1 inch in 

 front of the anus with a scalpel. The tag was then pushed through this incision into 

 the body cavity by means of small forceps, so that it lay parallel to the antero-posterior 

 axis of the fish but well on the side of the body cavity where it did not interfere with 

 or displace any of the viscera. Some 581 juvenile and yearling striped bass have been 

 tagged in this manner, and subsequent recaptures have indicated that this method 

 is both feasible and practical with this species, although the returns to date have been 

 few. The advantages of this method over the external disc tags are that it enables 

 the marking of striped bass down to at least 5 inches, and that it is probably a much 

 better long-time tag — although this latter remains to be definitely proven in this 

 species. The only disadvantage of the internal tag with the striped bass is that this 

 species is practically never dressed until it is sold to the individual customer, and 

 since this fish is commonly shipped great distances to market, the tag is likely not to 

 be found until it is difficult to discover the exact locality and date of capture of the 

 fish that bore it. 



A total of 3,937 striped bass were marked by means of the external disc and 

 internal belly tags from April 1936 to June 1938. Of this number, 2,573 were tagged 

 in Connecticut and Long Island waters. These were all tagged by the external disc 

 method, and were all 2 years old or more, since there are comparatively few areas 

 in northern waters where juvenile and yearling striped bass are available. Returns 

 from fish tagged in this region reached 544 (21.1 percent of the total) by July 1938 

 and gave abundant proof of a coastwise northern migration in the spring, a relatively 

 stable population showing no movement of any consequence in the summer, and a 

 southern migration in the fall and early winter. 



In the period from April through October 1936, 1,397 striped bass were tagged 

 in Connecticut waters, of which 337, or 24.1 percent of the total were returned by 

 July 1, 1938. (See fig. 26 and table 17.) In the spring of 1936 these returns showed 

 that an eastward extension from Connecticut to Rhode Island of what undoubtedly 

 was a mass migration to the north, reaching its peak during May in southern New 

 England waters, definitely took place. During late April and May only a few striped 

 bass were tagged, yet returns from the Thames River, Conn., and Point Judith and 

 Newport, R. I., proved that many of these fish were taking part in what the spring 

 catch records of the seines and pound-nets had suggested was a tremendous mass 

 movement to the north. Fish tagged in the Niautic River, Conn., in May were 

 returned from Point Judith and Newport, a distance of 40 to 50 miles in a straight line, 

 5 to 7 days after their release. The recapture of tagged fish in the summer and early 

 fall showed that the striped bass population in the Niantic and Thames Rivers remained 

 static. Only minor migrations and movements up to 10 miles from the original 

 point of release were recorded from June to October, and it is significant that during 

 the spring, summer, and early fall, there was not a single recapture of a marked bass to 

 the south or west of the areas in which they were tagged. The stability of the popula- 

 tion through the summer and up to the latter part of October was shown by the con- 

 sistent recapture of tagged fish at or near the localities where they were released. An 



