between the need to meet domestic/ 

 industrial water supply requirements 

 and flow requirements needed for 

 successful striped bass recruitment 

 and maintenance of fishable stocks. 

 Given the data we have available con- 

 cerning storage capacity, it is not 

 possible to calculate how much of the 

 spring peak could be placed in 

 storage. In any case, it seems pru- 

 dent to consider the possibility of 

 storing river water during periods of 

 the year when flow substantially 

 exceeds demand either prior to or 

 after spawning events. 



high discharge. Larvae apparently 

 have sufficient time to complete the 

 critical stages prior to being trans- 

 ported out of this zone. The above 

 represents what appears to be a con- 

 sistent pattern, but one that may 

 nonetheless be modified as analyses 

 continue. Concerning the role of 

 river flow and striped bass success, 

 the case we have built for the 

 Potomac suggests that any significant 

 diminution of springtime freshwater 

 discharge to the estuary would tend 

 to decrease the probability of sub- 

 stantial recruitment success. 



CONCLUSIONS 



Intensive sampling of fish egg 

 and larval populations, zooplankton 

 distributions and results of larval 

 stomach analyses indicated that 

 first-feeding larvae represent the 

 critical stage in striped bass re- 

 cruitment and that high densities of 

 zooplankton are necessary for suc- 

 cessful recruitment to occur. Adult 

 spawning stock size is seen to be 

 relatively unimportant compared to 

 factors controlling zooplankton 

 densities and distributions in the 

 estuary. We have tried to build a 

 case which invokes winter temperature 

 patterns and spring river flow as 

 important factors influencing the 

 density and areal distribution of 

 zooplankton and perhaps the migration 

 pattern of adult striped bass. In 

 years having low winter temperatures 

 and high river flow, adult bass 

 appear to move farther up river prior 

 to spawning, possibly due to tempera- 

 ture regulated spawning patterns. 

 Eggs are deposited at the head of the 

 spawning area which has sufficient 

 organic matter resources, due to high 

 freshwater discharge, to support zoo- 

 plankton populations at densities 

 required by first-feeding larvae. 

 The areal extent of the zone char- 

 acterized by high zooplankton densi- 

 ties is also enlarged during years of 



LITERATURE CITED 



Aleem, A. A. Effect of river out- 

 flow management on marine life. 

 Mar. Biol. 15 :200-208; 1972 . 



Bailey, W.M. An evaluation of striped 

 bass introductions in the South- 

 eastern United States. Proc. 

 28th Annu. Conf. Southeast. As- 

 soc. Game Fish Comm. 1974:54- 

 68; 1975. 



Barkuloo, J.M. Distribution and 

 abundance of striped bass (Roc - 

 cus saxatilis , Walbaum) on the 

 Florida Gulf Coast. Proc. 15th 

 Annu. Conf. Southeast Assoc. 

 Game Fish Comm. 1961:223-226 



Taxonomic status and repro- 



duction of striped bass (Morone 



saxatilis ) in Florida. U.S. 



Bur. Sport Fish. Wildl. 16 p. 



1970; Tech. Pap. 44. 



Beaven, M.; Mihursky, J. A. Analysis 

 of striped bass larval stomachs. 

 1976 Potomac Estuary collec- 

 tions final report. Solomons, 

 Md: Univ. Maryland Center for 

 Environmental and Estuarine 

 Studies, Chesapeake Biological 



163 



