366 Striped Bass 



Striped Bass, Rockfish 

 Roccus saxatilis (Walbaum) 



Color: Dark green above; silvery on sides and belly. Scales 

 have 7-8 distinct, sometimes broken, longitudinal black 

 stripes. 



Distribution: Occurs from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to 

 Florida. It has been introduced successfully on the Pacific 

 coast of the United States. 



Size: Grows to a length of over 6 feet. The largest re- 

 corded weighed 125 pounds. 



General Information: The Striped Bass is a powerful spe- 

 cies common along the shores of the Middle Atlantic and 

 Chesapeake regions. Smaller fish up to 10-15 pounds 

 often school in large numbers. The larger fish are more 

 often found singly or in small schools. Spawning occurs in 

 spring and the adult fish run up rivers to brackish and 

 fresh waters to lay their eggs. A 3-pound fish was reported 

 to contain 14,000 eggs, while a 75-pound fish was esti- 

 mated to have about ten million eggs. The eggs are heavier 

 than fresh water and hatch in 48 hours at a water tem- 

 perature of 64 degrees. Recently it has been found that 

 there are various races of Striped Bass along its range. 

 Most of the fish caught from New England south to Vir- 

 ginia are probably spawned in Chesapeake Bay and its 

 tributaries, although some spawning also takes place in 

 various other localities in the Middle Atlantic and south- 

 ern New England regions. The Striped Bass is a voracious 

 fish, feeding mostly on a wide variety of fishes and crusta- 

 ceans, shellfish, and sea worms. 

 Economic Importance: A good food fish important in the 



