Able et al.: Early life history of Centropristis striata 



433 



Centropristis striata 

 1977-1987 

 Larvae/ 10 m 



Larvae/10 m 







70 JrW" ' ' '■ "?t 





.'..'>* 



kiloaf tpri 



^'..'•.■.•:\ : . ; .-V r 



^£ 



' 4? 



Figure 3 



Monthly distribution and abundance of black sea bass, Centropristis striata, larvae in the mid-Atlantic Bight based on NMFS- 

 MARMAP surveys during 1977-87. 



from trap collections in the Rutgers University Ma- 

 rine Field Station (RUMFS) boat basin in 1992 (Fig. 

 7). At the same time, catch rates increased dramati- 

 cally, compared with those for summer, on the inner 

 continental shelf off New Jersey (Fig. 8), owing, pre- 

 sumably, to the addition of individuals moving from 

 the estuary as well as to recently settled fishes. Age 



0+ individuals were absent in the winter. Catches at 

 Beach Haven Ridge were zero from December 

 through February and few individuals were caught 

 in March (Fig. 7) in 1991 and 1992. Catches increased 

 in April or May, or during both months, depending 

 on the year, and then decreased through the spring 

 and early summer. This same general seasonal pat- 



