Able et al Distribution, movements, and habitat use of small Morone saxatilis across multiple spatial scales 
181 
Sampling events 
Or tOWS (72) 
Water depths 
sampled (m) 
No. of 
individuals (<46 cm) 
Data source 
>16,000 
5-481 
438 
National Marine Fisheries Service; Grosslein and 
Azarovitz (1982); Able and Brown (2005) 
>300,000 (captures); 
No data 
1529 (recaptures) 
American Littoral Society; current study 
>19,000 (recaptures) 
2872 
3-80 
2930 
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; 
Byrne (1989); current study 
526 
<2 
9 
Able et al. (2003); current study 
2328 
0.35-26.0 
27 
Able and Fahay (2010) 
599 
0-8 
28 
Able and Fahay (2010) 
243 
<2 
9 
Able et al. (2003); current study 
Mobile (80) 
1-25 
14 
Current study 
Passive (>50,000) 
>15,000 
1-24 
5343 
Nemerson and Able (2003); Able et al. (2007) 
— 
<2 
108,445 (1-39 cm) 
New York Department of Environmental Conservation 
Movements determined with tag-recapture methods 
Tagged and recaptured individuals revealed that they 
could move from natal estuaries to the vicinity of non- 
natal sources along the New Jersey coast and that those 
individuals that were found along the New Jersey coast 
could move to other areas. Few individuals tagged in 
the nearest natal estuaries (Hudson River and vicinity, 
n= 25, and Delaware River, n- 1) were recaptured along 
the New Jersey coast (n= 26 total, Fig. 6A). Small striped 
bass captured in neighboring natal estuaries ranged 
in size from 30-46 cm before being recaptured in New 
Jersey (33-46 cm). Days at liberty for fish captured in 
nearby natal estuaries ranged from 13-892 (mean 276 
days). Individuals tagged in or along the New Jersey 
coast (n = 152 total) were recaptured throughout the 
northeastern United States from northern Chesapeake 
Bay (n = 4; 3%), Delaware Bay (n = 19; 13%), and Long 
Island and Connecticut (n= 27; 18%), with some found 
as far north as Cape Cod and Maine (re=21; 14%). The 
majority of recaptures, however, occurred along the New 
Jersey coast (n = 81; 53%; Fig. 6B). The time between 
capture and recapture was similar for this subset of fish 
(1-868 days; mean 244 days). For those fish originally 
captured in New Jersey and recaptured elsewhere along 
the coast, sizes were generally smaller than in the other 
subset of fish analyzed and lengths ranged from 25 to 46 
cm during capture and from 28 to 46 cm during recap- 
ture. A relatively small number of fish were recaptured 
at sizes less than 40 cm TL (n = 18; 11.8%), with all 
but one of these individuals recaptured less than 100 
km from their original release location in New Jersey 
waters (Fig. 6B). 
Estuarine habitat use determined with acoustic telemetry 
From 2006 through 2008, 14 small striped bass (32.4- 
42.5 cm FL) were tagged with acoustic transmitters 
within the Mullica River-Great Bay estuary in south- 
ern New Jersey (Tables 1 and 2, Fig. 7). Most were 
consistently detected (11 of 14 individuals, 72 = 114 detec- 
tions) based on mobile telemetry. An examination of 
the seasonal distribution revealed consistent use of the 
mesohaline portions of the river all the way up to, and 
occasionally above, the freshwater-saltwater interface, 
whereas fewer were found in polyhaline waters near 
Little Egg Inlet (see Fig. 1). In the summer, fall, and 
spring some individuals were detected downstream near 
Little Egg Inlet, or in Great Bay, but during the winter 
all juveniles were detected upstream in the river (Fig. 
7). During December 2006, four fish (42-48 cm FL) were 
tagged in the ocean off Long Beach Island (Fig. 7C). Of 
these, one (code 104) moved into the estuary by way of 
Main Marsh Thorofare (see Fig. 1) on December 24 and 
remained there for approximately 125 days. 
The use of upriver habitats (such as Lower Bank) 
was evident by the temperature (Fig. 8A) and salinities 
(Fig. 8B) at which tagged juvenile striped bass were 
frequently detected. Juveniles inhabited the warmer 
water temperatures found upstream in the summer 
