Abstract
In winter and spring of 1957 and 1958, 2429 striped bass ranging in length from 7 to 35 inches were tagged in the York, James, and Rappahannock Rivers of Virginia and 675 were recaptured. Fish were recaptured by stake, drift, and anchor gillnets, fyke nets, pound nets, hook and line and an oyster dredge. Ninety-four percent of the recaptured fish were taken in the same river system in which they were tagged. Striped bass from the York River moved more extensively than those from the Rappahannock; those from the James River moved least. Twelve fish moved outside of Chesapeake Bay and were recaptured in coastal waters between Maine and North Carolina. Most fish recaptured in fall and winter were taken in the same river system in which they were tagged, while some of those recaptured in spring and summer moved considerable distances. Almost all striped bass less than 12 inches in length remained in the river system in which they were tagged. The distribution of tag returns suggested that subpopulations of striped bass were present in the York and Rappahannock and James Rivers. The James River fish rarely mixed with those from other areas in Chesapeake Bay.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Calhoun, A. J. 1952. Annual migrations of California striped bass.Calif. Fish & Game, 38(3):391–403.
Chapoton, R. B. andJ. E. Sykes. 1961. Atlantic coast migration of large striped bass as evidenced by fisheries and tagging.Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 90(1):13–20.
Lewis, R. M.. 1957. Comparative study of populations of the striped bass.U. S. Fish & Wildl. Serv. Spec. Sci. Rept. Fish. (204):1–54.
—, 1961. Comparison of the three tags on striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay area.Chesapeake Sci. 2(1):3–8.
Lund, W. A. Jr. 1957. Morphometric study of the striped bassRoccus saxatilis.U. S. Fish & Wildl. Serv. Spec. Sci. Rept. Fish. (216):1–24.
Mansueti, R. 1958. Striped bass tagged by Solomons Laboratory remain largely in Bay.Md. Tidewater News. 14(6):22, 24.
Merriman, D. 1941. Studies of the striped bass (Roccus saxatilis) of the Atlantic coast.U. S. Fish & Wildl. Serv. Fish. Bull. 50(35):1–77.
Pearson, J. C. 1933. Movements of striped bass in Chesapeake Bay.Md. Fisheries.22:15–7.
Raney, E. C. 1952. The life history of the striped bass,Roccus saxatilis (Walbaum).Bull. Bingham Oceanogr. Coll. 14(1):1–97.
—, 1957. Subpopulations of the striped bass,Roccus saxatilis (Walbaum), in tributaries of Chesapeake Bay.U. S. Fish & Wildl. Serv. Spec. Sci. Rept. Fish. 208:85–107.
— andD. P. de Sylva. 1953. Racial investigations of the striped bass,Roccus saxatilis (Walbaum).J. Wildl. Mgt. 17 (4):495–509.
Raney, E. C., William S. Woolcott, and Albert G. Mehring. 1954. Migratory pattern and racial structure of Atlantic coast striped bass.Trans. 19th N. Am. Wildl. Conf.: 376–96.
Vladykov, V. D. andD. H. Wallace. 1938. Is the striped bass (Roccus lineatus) of Chesapeake Bay a migratory fish?Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 67:67–86.
—, and — 1952. Studies of the striped bass,Roccus saxatilis (Walbaum), with special reference to the Chesapeake Bay region during 1936–1938.Bull. Bingham Oceanogr. Coll. 14(1):132–77.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Contribution No. 97, Virginia Fisheries Laboratory, Gloucester Point, Virginia.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Massmann, W.H., Pacheco, A.L. Movements of striped bass tagged in Virginia waters of Chesapeake Bay. Chesapeake Science 2, 37–44 (1961). https://doi.org/10.2307/1350718
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1350718