122 MARINE FISHERIES OF NORTH CAROLINA 



The growth of the striped bass, as found by subtractions in the above 

 table, was 4.92 inches during the first year, 4.33 inches the second, and 5.12 

 inches the third year. The growth rate then decreases, being 3.35, 3.15, 3-i5, 

 2.95 and 2.56 inches during the fourth to eighth years respectively. 



Unusually large striped bass are taken occasionally. Smith (1907) reports 

 fish weighing 125 pounds taken at Edenton, North Carolina, in 1891, and 

 states further that striped bass weighing 60 to 75 pounds are (or were) not 

 uncommon. Apparently these larger fish are no longer as common as in the 

 past, for Merriman states that "bass above 60 pounds are now decidedly 

 rare." 



An interesting feature in the life history of this species which was not 

 commonly known prior to Merriman's study is the annual mass migration to 

 the north in the spring and to the south in the fall. These migrations were 

 demonstrated by tagging a large number of fish at various points along the 

 Atlantic coast. 



The spring migration is believed to start from Chesapeake Bay and the 

 size of the migrating group increases as the fish from more northerly points 

 join it. When the migrating mass reaches Long Island, Connecticut, and 

 Rhode Island waters, large groups split off to spend the summer in these 

 waters, so that the body of fish dwindles as it moves farther north. The 

 northern limit of the migration apparently is determined by the size of the 

 migrating mass. During years when the population is small, the northern 

 limit seems to be Cape Cod, but in years of large populations, such as 1936 

 and 1937, striped bass were common as far north as New Hampshire and 

 Maine. During those years, bass were taken in commercial quantities in Cape 

 Cod where normally the annual migration is not large enough to support a 

 fishery. 



In the fall, the migration reverses, starting with those individuals which 

 spent the summer in the most northerly waters, gaining numbers as it is 

 augmented by the fish from Long Island and southern New England, and 

 then decreasing as groups split off to spend the winter in different localities. 



There are indications that the migrations are greatly influenced by water 

 temperature. The striped bass tolerate a wide range of temperature, as shown 

 by their distribution described earlier; yet Merriman found that "the times 

 when the first striped bass of the year were taken — in April 1936, 1937, and 

 1938 — and the times that the last ones of the year were caught — in Novem- 

 ber, 1936 and 1937 — in the Niantic River, Connecticut, were always when 

 the temperature of the water was approximately the same, 6.0° to 7.5° C. 

 (42.8° to 45-5° F.)." 



Not all striped bass take part in the annual migration; some individuals 

 remain in each of the southern localities during the summer and convei^sely 

 some remain in the northern waters during the winter. Whether such indi- 



