184 
Fishery Bulletin 1 10(2) 
<20 cm TL 
21-46 cm TL 
o.io 
0.08 
0.06 
0.04 
0.02 
0.00 
Spring Summer Fall Winter 
Spring Summer Fall Winter 
Figure 4 
Catch per unit of effort (CPUE) of smaller (<20 cm total length [TL]) and larger 
(21-46 cm TL) striped bass ( Morone saxatilis) by season and depth strata (inshore 
[5.5-9. 1 m] mid-shore [9.1-18.3 ml, and offshore [18.3-27.4 m[) on the inner con- 
tinental shelf based on New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection trawl 
surveys. Error bars represent standard error of the mean. See Figure 5 for descrip- 
tion and location of depth strata. 
were detected at depths of 0.9-8. 3 m (mean 3.6 m). 
They also showed a differential use of emergent (marsh 
bank) and submerged (channel edge) embankments 
across the seasons. Fish were found relatively close to 
emergent marsh banks across all seasons but were most 
consistently found there in the spring and fall (85 and 
87 m average distances, respectively) and farther away 
in the summer and winter (190 and 151 m average 
distances, respectively). Association with channel edges 
was greatest in the summer (average distance 414 m), 
and greater average distances were observed during the 
remaining seasons (1170-1831 m). 
Additional tracking based on the passive listen- 
ing array in this system also detected most (11 of 
14, n=713,413 detections) tagged individuals across 
several seasons (Tables 1 and 2). These were most 
consistently detected in the Mullica River portion of 
the estuary (hydrophone nos. 7, 9, 10) but they made 
movements into the bay (hydrophone nos. 4, 5) as well 
(see Fig. 1 for locations). One individual (code 141) was 
resident near hydrophone no. 7 from early summer 
through fall. Another (code 134) was resident in the 
bay near hydrophone no. 5 over a similar time period 
but made occasional movements up to the vicinity 
of hydrophone 7 in the river. Two other individuals 
(codes 135 and 201) were resident at hydrophone no. 7 
from fall through the following summer but made an 
initial excursion down into the bay (hydrophone no. 5) 
and more frequent movements up to the freshwater- 
saltwater interface near hydrophone no. 10 during the 
winter. Another individual (code 202) was less fre- 
quently detected as it moved from the tagging location 
in the lower river (hydrophone no. 7) up into the upper 
river at the freshwater-saltwater interface (hydrophone 
no. 10) on five occasions during the winter and then 
back down to the lower river (hydrophone no. 7) later 
in the spring. 
The physical habitat surrounding these extensively 
used habitats at hydrophones 7 (Chestnut Neck; Fig. 
1) and 10 (Lower Bank; Fig. 1) can be similarly char- 
acterized by their location within the main stem of 
the Mullica River (i.e., approximately 250 and 200 
m wide, respectively, and adjacency to a channel ap- 
proximately 4 and 9 m deep, respectively), but these 
locations vary in aspects of their water quality. Lower 
Bank is located at the freshwater-saltwater interface 
of the Mullica River-Great Bay estuary (daily average 
3.3 ppt, range: 0.0-17.7 during 2006-08) and Chest- 
