Movements of Hudson River Striped Bass

Abstract

The movements of age‐II and older striped bass (Morone saxatilis), tagged during 1976 and 1977 within a 70‐km section of the lower Hudson River, were determined from recaptures of fish within and outside the river. Movements within the river prior to and during the spawning period are related to maturity, age, and sex. During March and April, mature and immature fish coexist downriver from the principal spawning grounds. By late April, immature fish tend to migrate downriver and mature fish upriver. Males precede females to the spawning grounds. Following spawning, most striped bass leave the Hudson River and move generally northeast‐ward in Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean, but the majority are restricted to within 50 km of the river mouth. There is no correlation between distance moved and fish size, sex, or age. The migratory patterns of striped bass within the Hudson River system contrast markedly with those in the Chesapeake Bay system.

Intercept Telemetry of the Hudson River Striped Bass Resident Contingent: Migration and Homing Patterns

“…Despite high levels of fishing, few striped bass were harvested (approximately 13% of total catch), mainly because of angler concerns about PCB contamination. Although the season is open from March to November, most striped bass fishing occurs from early April to late June (Peterson 1998;NYSDEC 2005), coinciding with the ingress of coastal striped bass in the spring (Clark 1968;McLaren et al 1981;Waldman et al 1990). We have shown that resident striped bass spend over half of the year in freshwater tidal waters, in contrast to migratory striped bass, which spend 1-2 months in this region during their 102 WINGATE AND SECOR spawning run (Clark 1968;Waldman 2006).…”

“…Due to logistical constraints of sampling points south of BMB, we only documented an emigration south of our lowest intercept site, and our understanding of winter habitat use by the resident contingent is therefore incomplete. It is likely that resident striped bass overwinter in Haverstraw Bay based upon past tagging studies and the historical fishery that occurred there (McLaren et al 1981(McLaren et al , 1988. Further studies of winter habitat use in the areas of Haverstraw Bay are needed to confirm this expectation.…”

“…' Clark (1968) defined three migration contingents of Hudson River striped bass: the HudsonEstuary, Hudson-West Sound, and Hudson-Atlantic contingents. McLaren et al (1981) also described separate migration behaviors in which one group begins a coastal migration after spawning and the other remains resident in the river. Recent otolith microchemistry studies have verified this migratory behavior and classified three contingents: (1) a resident contingent that inhabits the freshwater and oligohaline tidal portion of the Hudson River; (2) an estuarine contingent that inhabits the lower estuary, including the New York City harbor and western Long Island Sound regions; and (3) a migratory contingent that inhabits marine environments and makes annual excursions into freshwater for spawning (from here on, contingents will be labeled ''resident,'' ''estuarine,'' and ''migratory'' after Zlokovitz and Secor 1999, Secor et al 2001, and Zlokovitz et al 2003).…”

Identification of riverine, estuarine, and coastal contingents of Hudson River striped bass based upon otolith elemental fingerprints

“…Also, biases in sampling intensity occurred over spatial and temporal scales, compromising interpretations. More recent population-level explanations of Hudson River striped bass migratory patterns specify size-and sex-specific rates of coastal emigration applied to the entire population (McLaren et al 1981, Waldman et al 1990, Dorazio et al 1994, Secor & Piccoli 1996.…”

Abundance exchange models of fish assemblages along the Hudson River Estuary Gradient, New York

“…Eastern silvery minnow is a freshwater species and it was observed only at the upstream portion of the gradient where water is fresh. Striped bass is an anadromous species that spawns in tidal rivers and migrates to estuarine and marine coastal waters to feed and grow (McLaren et al 1981). This species was observed throughout the Hudson River estuary gradient, but with varied abundance.…”