Abstract
The native striped bass (Morone saxatilis) population of the Miramichi River, New Brunswick is undergoing an unprecedented recovery while Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) numbers within that system continue to decline. Atlantic salmon smolt depart from the Miramichi system during the striped bass spawning period and it is hypothesized that elevated striped bass abundances will increase encounter rates and predation on smolts. We summarize all available striped bass diet studies occurring within the native range of Atlantic salmon and present a review of the feeding behavior and diet preferences of striped bass before, during, and after their spawning period. The key studies vary in methodologies and interpretability. We present a standardized approach for assessing striped bass predation threats and smolt vulnerability and thus an improved understanding of the species interactions to guide future management in the Miramichi River.
Highlights
The overlapping native range of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) and Atlantic salmon (Salmon salar) extends nearly 1500 km from the southern extreme of the Atlantic salmon range in the Hudson River, USA [1] to the northern extreme of the striped bass range in the Saint Lawrence River, Canada [2](Figure 1)
As a first step to support the challenging management environment these two species are creating, we investigated and report on one key potential conflict, which is the potential predation impacts of striped bass on Atlantic salmon smolts
In the Miramichi River, smolt out-migration overlaps with rainbow smelt, alewife, blueback herring, American shad, and potentially American eel elvers, which are all important foods of striped bass
Summary
Within this area, ~300 rivers currently support Atlantic salmon populations (either native or re-introduced by stocking) [3,4] and six rivers (Hudson, Kennebec, Saint John, Shubenacadie, Miramichi, and Saint Lawrence) are recognized to support reproducing populations of striped bass [5,6,7]. Declining Atlantic salmon populations ( in the southern species range) has led to extirpated and/or threatened status for the species in several rivers (e.g., those of the Inner Bay of Fundy [15], Merrimack, Kennebec [16]) and numerous additional rivers are failing to meet their conservation targets [12,17].
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