Age, Growth, and Movements of the Striped Bass, Roccus saxatilis, Taken in Size Selective Fishing Gear in Maryland

Abstract

Scale samples and tag returns were studied from over 1100 striped bass caught in 1957–58 at six locations in the Chesapeake Bay region of Maryland. Most fish, represented by age groups II–IV, were taken in size-selective gillnets and some by hook and line, otter trawls, and haul seines. Known males ranged as follows: age groups—II–XI, fork lengths—13–37 inches; and, weights—0.7–25 pounds. Females combined with fish of unknown sex ranged as follows: age groups—I–XIV, lengths—6–42″ F.L.; and, weights—0.8–49 pounds. Both sexes grew at the same rate during the first three years of life. Beginning with age group IV, the males grew at a consistently lower rate than the females and unknown sex group. Growth calculated from gillnetted fish was slightly higher than normal during the first two years of life, after which there was no apparent difference between selectively and non-selectively caught fish. Tagging results show that the bulk of the 418 (38 percent) recaptured striped bass remained in the Maryland part of Chesapeake Bay. Three tagged fish were recaptured outside the bay on the Atlantic coast, and two were taken in the Virginia part of the bay. The restricted recaptures around the tagging sites, in spite of time free, suggested that during the first several years of life the movements of local populations are minimal. Data is presented to show that larger striped bass moved greater distances on the average than smaller fish. Some tag returns showed that spawning fish returned to the same spawning site one and two years later. Exchange between bay and river populations of Maryland striped bass was not very great. New results have strengthened the previous assumption that the Potomac River population may be relatively self-contained, at least during the first three or four years of life.