Maturation and Fecundity of Roanoke River-Albemarle Sound Striped Bass

Abstract

Abstract Since the early 1940s, several investigators have determined age-at-maturity schedules for female striped bass Morone saxatilis at various locations along the Atlantic coast of the USA. These researchers have used one of two sets of criteria to determine whether a female is sexually mature; however, recent work suggests that these methods may underestimate the number of females entering the spawning population at an early age (e.g., ages 3 and 4). The objectives of our study were (1) to compare three methods and criteria for establishing sexual maturity and (2) to use all three methods in establishing a maturity schedule for female striped bass. Also, we estimated potential fecundity of the fish as a function of size, weight, and age. Two hundred sixty-five female striped bass were collected from the Roanoke River–Albemarle Sound system of North Carolina during the prespawning and spawning seasons (March–May) of 1989 and 1990. Females ranged in size from 344 to 1,172 mm fork length and in age fro...