Distribution

Striped bass have been introduced and become established in some landlocked lakes in the southern and central U.S.A.

Striped bass have been introduced to parts of Europe and Asia.

Striped bass have the following characteristics:

• a long, laterally compressed body;
• its colour is olive green to blue or black on the back; the sides are pale to silvery (sometimes with brassy reflections); its belly is white;
• it has 7-8 horizontal stripes on the sides;
• both eyes and mouth are relatively large and the lower jaw protrudes;
• the pelvic fins sit forward on the body below the pectoral fins;
• the first dorsal fin (on the back) is spiny and the second has one spine followed by several soft rays;
• a single spine lies at the front of each pelvic fin and three short spines precede the anal fin;
• young often lack stripes and have 6-10 dusky bars on the sides.
• Striped bass have been recorded as large as 56.7 kg (124.7 lb) (North Carolina, 189 1). However, most striped bass caught are 13.6 kg (30 lb) or less.

A striped bass weighing 28.6 kg (62.9 lb) was caught near Reversing Falls in the Saint John River, New Brunswick, in 1979.

The world record (angling) striped bass weighing 35.6 kg (78 lb) was caught at Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1982. The record Canadian striped bass was caught in Nova Scotia in 1994. It weighted 54.06 lb.

A striped bass tagged and released in the Saint John River, New Brunswick was recaptured 36 days later in Rhode Island, U.S.A., 805 km (503 mi) away! (22.4 km/day or 14 mi/day)

After fertilization, striped bass eggs swell to a size of 3.6 mm, about 3 times their original diameter.

Surveys show the average striped bass angler on the Annapolis River, Nova Scotia, spends about 50 hours for each fish caught.

The short (less than half the fin length) anal fin spines and body stripes distinguish striped bass from white perch, the other member of the temperate bass family found in Maritime waters. The white perch lacks stripes and 2 of its anal spines are longer than half the fin length.

Natural History

Striped bass are schooling fish, living in the sea and returning to fresh water to spawn (anadromous). Spawning is most common in steady-flowing, turbid rivers that have low slopes and large estuaries. During their saltwater life, many striped bass make long sea migrations. However, not all fish migrate and some populations do not migrate at all. Some fish remain in the estuary of their home rivers.

Striped bass spawn in May and June after moving upriver the previous fall, usually at water temperatures of 14 to 22øC. Upstream distances can vary from a long journey inland to spawning just above the head of tide. Striped bass sometimes spawn in brackish waters.

Striped bass produce many eggs. In fact, more than three million have been recorded for a 22.7 kg (50 lb) female! About 100,000 eggs is more typical of bass in our rivers. Striped bass spawn near the surface in water 0.3-6.1 m (1-20 ft) deep. The eggs have a large oil globule and are semi-buoyant. Ideally they are carried along by the current, which prevents them from getting silted over and smothered on the bottom. The eggs hatch in 2-3 days depending on the temperature (15-18.6øC).

Newly hatched fish are about 5.5 mm long. After absorbing the yolk-sac, they feed on zooplankton (tiny invertebrates suspended in the water). Striped bass are carnivores and take progressively larger prey as they grow.

They eat a variety of invertebrates such as insect larvae, marine worms, and crustaceans as well as many kinds of schooling fishes, especially herring and gaspereau.

It is not fished commercially in Nova Scotia.

Adults feed most actively just after sunset and just before dawn. They can sometimes be seen moving in with the tide, rolling and flashing as they feed on smaller fish. Canadian striped bass grow fairly rapidly and can be 14.5 cm (5.7 in) at age 1. They usually mature at age 3-6 years when they are about 34-53 cm (13.4-21.7 in) long. Males usually mature a year earlier than females, but do not live as long. Striped bass can live to 31 years.

Small striped bass are eaten by other fish such as Atlantic tomcod, Atlantic cod, silver hake and larger striped bass. Adult striped bass have few predators except humans.

Young striped bass form schools and spend their first two or three years in the lower reaches of rivers and in estuaries, preferably where there is a sand and gravel bottom and some current.

After this period, many leave their home waters and make long sea migrations along the Atlantic coast. Striped bass populations from North Carolina to the Bay of Fundy are typically migratory and travel in large schools moving north in the summer and south in the winter.

They probably return to their home rivers when they reach sexual maturity and are ready to spawn. However mature fish do not necessarily return every year to spawn. In general, most migrating striped bass are female.

Some of the large striped bass caught along Maritime coasts probably originate from U.S. rivers. Striped bass populations go through cycles. Every so many years the young-of-the-year offspring survive in particularly high numbers and become what is called a dominant year class in the population. Year-class success is probably determined in the first two months of life and may be related to environmental conditions during this period.

Published With Funding from the Canada-Nova Scotia Cooperation Agreement on Economic Diversification, Resource Competitiveness Program.