ML072070633
| ML072070633 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Oyster Creek |
| Issue date: | 09/30/1999 |
| From: | US Dept of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service, US Dept of Commerce, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration |
| To: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| Davis J NRR/DLR/REBB, 415-3835 | |
| References | |
| NMFS-NE-143 | |
| Download: ML072070633 (48) | |
Text
I NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE-143
'SrTES OV Essential Fish Habitat Source Document:
Black Sea Bass, Centropristis striata, Life History and Habitat Characteristics U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Region Northeast Fisheries Science Center Woods Hole, Massachusetts I
September 1999
Recent Issues 105.
Review of American Lobster (Homarus americanus) Habitat Requirements and Responses to Contaminant Exposures.
By Renee Mercaldo-Allen and Catherine A. Kuropat. July 1994. v + 52 p., 29 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB96-115555.
106. Selected Living Resources, Habitat Conditions, and Human Perturbations of the Gulf of Maine: Environmental and Ecological Considerations for Fishery Management. By Richard W. Langton, John B. Pearce, and Jon A. Gibson, eds.
August 1994. iv + 70 p., 2 figs., 6 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB95-270906.
107. Invertebrate Neoplasia: Initiation and Promotion Mechanisms -- Proceedings of an International Workshop, 23 June 1992, Washington, D.C. By A. Rosenfield, F.G. Kern, and B.J. Keller, comps. & eds. September 1994. v + 31 p., 8 figs.,
3 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB96-164801.
108. Status of Fishery Resources off the Northeastern United States for 1994. By Conservation and Utilization Division, Northeast Fisheries Science Center. January 1995. iv + 140 p., 71 figs., 75 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB95-263414.
109. Proceedings of the Symposium on the Potential for Development of Aquaculture in Massachusetts: 15-17 February 1995, Chatham/Edgartown[Dartmouth, Massachusetts. By Carlos A. Castro and Scott J. Soares, comps. & eds. January 1996.
v + 26 p., I fig., 2 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB97-103782.
110. Length-Length and Length-Weight Relationships for 13 Shark Species from the Western North Atlantic. By Nancy E.
Kohler, John G. Casey, Patricia A. Turner. May 1996. iv + 22 p., 4 figs., 15 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB97-135032.
111.
Review and Evaluation of the 1994 Experimental Fishery in Closed Area l1 on Georges Bank. By Patricia A. Gerrior, Fredric M. Serchuk, Kathleen C. Mays, John F. Kenney, and Peter D. Colosi. October 1996. v + 52 p., 24 figs., 20 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB98-119159.
112. Data Description and Statistical Summary of the 1983-92 Cost-Earnings Data Base for Northeast U.S. Commercial Fishing Vessels: A Guide to Understanding and Use of the Data Base. By Amy B. Gautam and Andrew W. Kitts. December 1996. v + 21 p., 11 figs., 14 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB97-169320.
113.
Individual Vessel Behavior in the Northeast Otter Trawl Fleet during 1982-92. By Barbara Pollard Rountree. August 1997.
v + 50 p., I fig., 40 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB99-169997.
114. U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Marine Mammal Stock Assessments -- 1996. By Gordon T. Waring, Debra L. Palka, Keith D. Mullin, James H.W. Hain, Larry J. Hansen, and Kathryn D. Bisack. October 1997. viii + 250 p., 42 figs., 47 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB98-112345.
115. Status of Fishery Resources off the Northeastern United States for 1998. By Stephen H. Clark, ed. September 1998. vi
+ 149 p., 70 figs., 80 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB99-129694.
116.
U.S. Atlantic Marine Mammal Stock Assessments -- 1998. By Gordon T. Waring, Debra L. Palka, Phillip J. Clapham, Steven Swartz, Marjorie C. Rossman, Timothy V.N. Cole, Kathryn D. Bisack, and Larry J. Hansen. February 1999. vii + 182 p., 16 figs., 56 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB99-134140.
117.
Review of Distribution of the Long-finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala melas) in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean.
By Alan A. Abend and Tim D. Smith. April 1999. vi + 22 p., 14 figs., 3 tables. NTIS Access. No.-PB99-165029.
118. Tautog (Tautoga onitis) Life History and Habitat Requirements. By Frank W. Steimle and Patricia A. Shaheen. May 1999.
vi + 23 p., 1 fig., I table. NTIS Access. No. PB99-16501 1.
119. Data Needs for Economic Analysis of Fishery Management Regulations. By Andrew W. Kitts and Scott R. Steinback.
August 1999. iv + 48 p., 10 figs., 22 tables. NTIS Access. No. PB99-171456.
120. Marine Mammal Research Program of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center during 1990-95. By Janeen M. Quintal and Tim D. Smith. September 1999. v + 28 p., 4 tables, 4 app. NTIS Access. No. PB2000-100809.
-,,N/T M OS,,-,
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NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE-143 This series represents a secondary level of scientifiic publishing.
All issues employ thorough internal scientific review; some issues employ external scientific review.
Reviews are'-- by design -- transparent collegial reviews, not anonymous peer reviews.
All issues may be cited in formal scientific communications.
Essential Fish Habitat Source Document:
Black Sea Bass, Centropristis striata, Life History and Habitat Characteristics Frank W. Steimle, Christine A. Zetlin, Peter L. Berrien, and Sukwoo Chang National Marine Fisheries Serv., James J. Howard Marine Sciences Lab., 74 Magruder Rd., Highlands, NJ 07732 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE William Daley, Secretary National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration D. James Baker, Administrator National Marine Fisheries Service Penelope D. Dalton, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Northeast Region Northeast Fisheries Science Center Woods Hole, Massachusetts September 1999
Editorial Notes on Issues 122-152 in the NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE Series Editorial Production For Issues 122-152, staff of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center's (NEFSC's) Ecosystems Processes Division have largely assumed the role of staff of the NEFSC's Editorial Office for technical and copy editing, type composition, and page layout. Other than the four covers (inside and outside, front and back) and first two preliminary pages, all preprinting editorial production has been performed by, and all credit for such production rightfully belongs to, the authors and acknowledgees of each issue, as well as those noted below in "Special Acknowledgments."
Special Acknowledgments David B. Packer, Sara J. Griesbach, and Luca M. Cargnelli coordinated virtually all aspects of the preprinting editorial production, as well as performed virtually all technical and copy editing, type composition, and page layout, of Issues 122-152. Rande R. Cross, Claire L. Steimle, and Judy D. Berrien conducted the literature searching, citation checking, and bibliographic styling for Issues 122-152. Joseph J. Vitaliano produced all of the food habits figures in Issues 122-152.
Internet Availability Issues 122-152 are being copublished, i.e., both as paper copies and as web postings. All web postings are, or will soon-be, available at: www.nefsc.nmfs.gov/nefsc/habitat/ejh. Also, all web postings will be in "PDF" format.
Information Updating By federal regulation, all information specific to Issues 122-152 must be updated at least every five years. All official updates will appear in the web postings. Paper copies will be reissued only when and if new information associated with Issues 122-152 is significant enough to warrant a reprinting ofa given issue. All updated and/or reprinted issues will retain the original issue number, but bear a "Revised (Month Year)" label.
Species Names The NMFS Northeast Region's policy on the use of species names in all technical communications is generally to follow the American Fisheries Society's lists of scientific and common names for fishes (i.e., Robinsetal. 1991), mollusks (i.e.,
Turgeon et al. 19981), and decapod crustaceans (i.e., Williams et al. 1989%, and to follow the Society for Marine Mammalogy's guidance on scientific and common names for marine mammals (i.e., Rice 19 9 8d). Exceptions to this policy occur when there are subsequent compelling revisions in the classifications of species, resulting in changes in the names of species (e.g., Cooper and Chapleau 1998').
'Robins, C.R. (chair); Bailey, R.M.; Bond, C.E.; Brooker, J.R.; Lachner, E.A.; Lea, RN.; Scott, W.B. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. 5th ed. Amer. Fish. Soc. Spec. Pub!. 20; 183 p.
"Turgeon, D.D. (chair); Quinn, J.F., Jr.; Bogan, A.E.; Coan, E.V.; Hochberg, F.G.; Lyons, W.G.; Mikkelsen, P.M.; Neves, R.J.; Roper, C.F.E.;
Rosenberg, G.; Roth, B.; Scheltema, A.; Thompson, F.G.; Vecchione, M.; Williams, J.D. 1998.
Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: mollusks. 2nd ed. Amer. Fish. Soc. Spec. Publ. 26; 526 p.
cWilliams, A.B. (chair); Abele, L.G.; Felder, D.L.; Hobbs, H.H., Jr.; Manning, R.B.; McLaughlin, P.A.; Pdrez Farfante, 1. 1989. Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: decapod crustaceans. Amer. Fish, Soc. Spec. Publ. 17; 77 p.
'Rice, D.W. 1998. Marine mammals of the world: systematics and distribution. Soc. Mar. Mammal. Spec. Publ. 4; 231 p.
cCooper, J.A.; Chapleau, F. 1998. Monophyly and interrelationships of the family Pleuronectidae (Pleuronectiformes), with a revised classification.
Fish. Bull. (U.S.) 96:686-726.
Page iii FOREWORD One of the greatest long-term threats to the viability of commercial and recreational fisheries is the continuing loss of marine, estuarine, and other aquatic habitats.
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (October 11, 1996)
The long-term viability of living marine resources depends on protection of their habitat.
NMFS Strategic Plan for Fisheries Research (February 1998)
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA), which was reauthorized and amended by the Sustainable Fisheries 'Act (1996),
requires the eight regional fishery management councils to describe and identify essential fish habitat (EFH) in their respective regions, to specify actions to conserve and enhance that EFH, and to minimize the adverse effects of fishing on EFH. Congress defined EFH as "those waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding or growth to maturity."
The MSFCMA requires NMFS to assist the regional fishery management councils in the implementation of EFH in their respective fishery management plans.
NMFS has taken a broad view of habitat as the area used by fish throughout their life cycle. Fish use habitat for spawning, feeding, nursery, migration, and shelter, but most habitats provide only a subset of these functions.
Fish may change habitats with changes in life history stage, seasonal and geographic distributions, abundance, and interactions with other species. The type of habitat, as well as its attributes and functions, are important for sustaining the production of managed species.
The Northeast Fisheries Science Center compiled the available information on the distribution, abundance, and habitat requirements for each of the species managed by the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils. That information is presented in this series of 30 EFH species reports (plus one consolidated methods report). The EFH species reports comprise a survey of the important literature as well as original analyses of fishery-JAMES J. HOWARD MARINE SCIENCES LABORATORY HIGHLANDS, NEW JERSEY SEPTEMBER I 99 independent data sets from NMFS and several coastal states.
The species reports are also the source for the current EFH designations by the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
- Councils, and have understandably begun to be referred to as the "EFH source documents."
NMFS provided guidance to the regional fishery management councils for identifying and describing EFH of their managed species. Consistent with this guidance, the species reports present information on current and historic stock sizes, geographic range, and the period and location of major life history stages.
The habitats of managed species are described by the physical, chemical, and biological components of the ecosystem where the species occur. Information on the habitat requirements is provided for each life history stage, and it includes, where available, habitat and environmental variables that control or limit distribution, abundance, growth, reproduction, mortality, and productivity.
Identifying and describing EFH are the first steps in the process of protecting, conserving, and enhancing essential habitats of the managed species.
Ultimately, NMFS, the regional fishery management councils, fishing participants, Federal and state agencies, and other organizations will have to cooperate to achieve the habitat goals established by the MSFCMA.
A historical note: the EFH species reports effectively recommence a series of reports published by the NMFS Sandy Hook (New Jersey) Laboratory (now formally known as the James J.
Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory) from 1977 to 1982. These reports, which were formally labeled as Sandy Hook Laboratory Technical Series Reports, but informally known as "Sandy Hook Bluebooks," summarized biological and fisheries data for 18 economically important species. The fact that the bluebooks continue to be used two decades after their publication persuaded us to make their successors - the 30 EFH source documents - available to the public through publication in the NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE series.
JEFFREY N. CROSS, CHIEF ECOSYSTEMS PROCESSES DIVISION NORTHEAST FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER
Page v Contents Introduction...................................................................................
Life H istory..............
H ab itat C h aracteristics.......-.. '..................
4 Geographical Distribution 7
Status of the Stocks 8
RsacNed.....................
8 Acknowledgments.................................................................................................
References Cited..........................................
9 Tables Table 1. Summary of life history and habitat characteristics for black sea bass, Centropristis striata.....
........................... 15 Figures Figure I. The black sea bass, Centropristis striata (from Goode 1884)..............................................
17, Figure 2.
Distribution and abundance of black sea bass in the Northwest Atlantic during 1975-1994.
18 Figure 3.
Abundance of the major prey items in the diets of black sea bass collected during NEFSC bottom trawl surveys......
19 Figure 4.
Abundance of black sea bass eggs relative to water temperature and bottom depth from NEFSC MARMAP surveys........ 20 Figure 5.. Abundance of black sea bass larvae relative to water.temperature and bottom depth from NEFSC MARMAP surveys...... 21 Figure 6.
Seasonal abundance of juvenile/adult black sea bass relative to bottom temperature and depth from NEFSC surveys.........22 Figure 7.
Abundance of juvenile/adult black sea bass relative to bottom temperature and depth based on Massachusetts surveys..... 24 Figure 8.
Seasonal abundance of juvenile/adult black sea bass relative to temperature and depth from Narragansett Bay surveys..... 25 Figure 9. Abundance of juvenile/adult black sea bass relative to temperature, DO, depth, and salinity from the Hudson-Raritan......27 Figure 10. Distribution and abundance of black sea bass eggs collected during NEFSC MARMAP surveys........................................
28 Figure I1. Distribution and abundance of black sea bass larvae collected during NEFSC MARMAP surveys.,...............
.......... 31.
Figure 12. Seasonal distribution and abundance of juvenile/adult black sea bass collected during NEFSC bottom trawl surveys........ 34 Figure 13, Distribution and abundance of juvenile/adult black sea bass collected during Massachusetts trawl surveys...................
36 Figure 14. Distribution and abundance of juvenile/adult black sea bass collected in Narragansett Bay during Rhode Island surveys..37 Figure 15. Distribution, abundance, and size frequency distribution of black sea bass collected in Long Island Sound.................
39 Figure 16. Seasonal distribution and abundance of juvenile/adult black sea bass in the Hudson-Raritan estuary.............................
40 Figure 17. Commercial landings and NEFSC trawl survey indices for black sea bass in Gulf of Maine and Middle Atlantic Bight..... 42
Page 1 INTRODUCTION The black sea bass (Centropristis striata Linnaeus 1758) (Figure 1), is a warm temperate species that is usually associated with structured habitats, such as reefs and shipwrecks, on the continental shelf.
It occurs from southern Nova Scotia" and the Bay of Fundy (Scott and Scott 1988) to southern Florida (Bowen and Avise 1990) and into the Gulf of Mexico (Figure 2). The summer migrant fish assemblage, with which the black sea bass is associated, has been reported from scattered sites on the Grand Banks of Canada (Brown et al. 1996); however, it is uncommon or occurs irregularly in the cool waters north of Cape Cod (Scattergood 1952; DeWitt et al. 1981; Short 1992).
According to Beebe and Tee-Van (1933), black sea bass were introduced to Bermuda, however this was unsuccessful (B. Collette, National Systematics Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, personal communication).
The species exists as three populations or stocks -
northern, southern, and Gulf of Mexico. The northern stock, that occurs north of Cape Hatteras, is the focus of this review. The life histories and habitats of the southern and Gulf of Mexico populations are covered in the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan.
The eggs and larvae are generally collected from late spring to late summer from mid-shelf into coastal waters.
Larvae are believed to settle in coastal waters and move into estuarine or sheltered coastal nursery areas as early juveniles.
This can be a two-step process involving nearshore accumulation and estuarine passage (Boehlert and Mundy 1988). During warmer months, juveniles are found in estuaries and coastal areas, often near shelter, between North Carolina and Massachusetts.
Adults are found slightly deeper than juveniles and summer in coastal areas, usually near structured habitat, from the Middle Atlantic Bight into the Gulf of Maine.
Temperature, not the availability of structured habitat, appears to limit black sea bass distribution north of Cape Cod. In the Middle Atlantic Bight, black sea bass are usually the most common fish on structured habitats, especially south of New Jersey where the abundance of cunner (Tautogolabrus adspersus) declines.
These structured habitats include shellfish (oyster and mussel) beds, rocky areas, shipwrecks, and artificial reefs (Verrill 1873; Bigelow and Schroeder 1953; Musick and Mercer 1977; Steimle and Figley 1996).
As coastal waters cool below 14WC in the fall, the Middle Atlantic Bight population begins to migrate south and offshore to wintering areas in deeper waters between central New Jersey and North Carolina. As bottom waters warm above about 7°C in the spring, the population migrates inshore into coastal areas and bays in southern New England and the Middle Atlantic Bight. The southern population of black sea bass is not known to make an extensive migration, but ma.y move away from shallow coastal areas during cold winters, especially in the Carolinas.
Larger fish are commonly found in deeper waters and usually associated with rough bottom (Smith 1907; Hildebrand and Schroeder 1928; Bigelow and Schroeder 1953).
Black sea bass usually mature as a female and with increasing size, change sex to male. In the Middle Atlantic Bight, they grow to over 60 cm TL, weigh over 3.5 kg, and live up to 20 years; the largest and oldest fish are almost always males (Bigelow and Schroeder 1953).
LIFE HISTORY EGGS The northern population spawns buoyant, pelagic eggs on the continental shelf from spring through fall (Able and Fahay 1998; Reiss and McConaugha 1999).
Spawning begins in the spring in the southern part of their range (North Carolina and Virginia) and progresses north into southern New England waters from summer through fall. In the Middle Atlantic Bight, the incubation period of the eggs is five days (approximately 120 hrs) at 15'C (Kendall 1972).
Able and Fahay (1998) give an incubation period of 35-75 hrs depending on water' temperature. Little else is known of this stage.
LARVAE Larvae are 1.5-2.1 mm SL at hatching (Fahay 1983).
The duration of the pelagic larval stage is unknown. Tucker (1989) reported that larval black sea bass can grow for two days before their yolk is exhausted and will die within three days thereafter if th'ey can not acquire enough planktonic food. Cowen et al. (1993) classified black sea bass larvae in a New York Bight (bounded by Long Island and New Jersey coasts) mid-summer assemblage, which usually included cusk-eel (Ophidion sp.). Larvae settle and become demersal in coastal areas at 10-16 mm TL (Able and Fahay 1998). However, Kendall (1972) reported that settlement might be delayed until 25 mm TL. Allen et al. (1978) found 15-17 mm black sea bass larvae (transition to juveniles) in epibenthic sled collections off the oceanic side of the Cape May peninsula (New Jersey) in late July. Larval black sea bass were collected by plankton nets in the surf zone during June-July 1995-1996 off northern New Jersey (D. Clark, U.S. Army Corps Engineers, Vicksburg, MS, personal communication).
JUVENILES (< 19CM TL)
Most juvenile settlement does not occur in estuaries, but.
in coastal areas. Recently settled juveniles then find their way to estuarine nurseries. Adams (1993) reported a "major settlement" ofjuvenile black sea bass (< 3.0 cm) in August 1992 near an artificial reef about 15 km off the Virginia-North Carolina border.
He did not observe a large
Page 2 settlement in 1991. The fish were observed by diving and occurred singly and in small, groups near shelter on the artificial reef or in depressions containing shellfragments in the surrounding sand. The transport mechanism and fish behavior that move these early juveniles into estuaries are unknown (Able and Fahay 1998).
Young-of-the-year (YOY) black sea bass enter Middle Atlantic Bight estuaries from July to September (Able et al.
1995b; Able and Hales 1997). This occurs earliest in the south. Kimmel (1973) collected 30-146 mm juveniles in Magothy Bay, Virginia as early as March; they occur later elsewhere in Chesapeake Bay (Chesapeake Bay Program 1996). Richards (1963a, b) did not find them in central Long Island Sound until September and October; this was confirmed by more recent surveys (1992-1997) of the Sound, (Gottschall et al., in review). Older juveniles return to estuaries in late spring and early summer, and may follow the migration routes of adults into coastal waters..Bean (1902) reported that juveniles were "very common" in Great South Bay (New York) and Great Egg Harbor Bay (New Jersey). Sherwood and Edwards (1902) noted that, at that time, black sea bass were decreasing in abundance in Vineyard Sound (Massachusetts).
The seasonal recruitment of YOY black sea bass to estuaries is temporally and spatially variable. Juvenile black sea bass were collected in relatively high abundance (1.2-5.5 per tow) from trawls in Raritan Bay (New Jersey) during late summer 1997 (D. McMillan, NMFS, NEFSC, James J.
Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory, Highlands, NJ, unpublished data), but they were rarely-collected in surveys during the previous five years. Based on trap collections, juvenile black sea bass were a dominant species within and near shoreline pilings in New York Harbor in late summer 1993 (Able et al. 1995b). Black sea bass were rare in the Arthur Kill, a tributary to the Hudson-Raritan estuary (Howells and Brundage 1977) and in Raritan and Sandy Hook Bays (Breder 1922; Wilk et al. 1996). They were not collected in Newark Bay in the' early 1990s (Wilk et al.
1997).
Black sea bass are rare in Barnegat Bay (New Jersey) (Marcellus 1972; Vouglitois 1983; Tatham et al.
1984). However, Allen et al. (1978) reported that Hereford Estuary (New Jersey), about 60 km south, was an important black sea bass nursery area during several years of monitoring; they also reported significant fluctuations in annual abundance.
Juvenile black sea bass grow relatively fast in estuaries during the summer. Schwartz (1961) found 30-37 mm TL juveniles in east shore bays of Virginia as early as April; they grew to 98-182 mm by November. Able and Fahay (1998) noted that YOY grow to 100 mm by the fall. Able and Hales (1997) reported mean growth rates of 0.45 mm/day from spring to fall, with a peak rate 0.74 mm/day in the summer, for age 0+ and I + juveniles in coastal southern
In a previous study, age 1+ fish grew an average of 0.77 mm/day (Able et al. 1995a).
In contrast, Allen et al. (1978) reported that postlarvae (early juveniles) that enter the Hereford Estuary in July at about 18 mm leave at > 40 mm TL in the fall; they also reported that I year old fish arrive in this estuary at about 60 mm and leave at about 100 mm TL.
Kim (1987) found that juvenile growth in the laboratory was affected by food type, consumption rates, and fish size.
Juvenile growth was increased 4-5 times on an enriched artificial diet. Laboratory studies indicated that temporary hypoxic conditions in estuaries in the summer could inhibit the growth of young-of-the-year fish (Hales and Able 1995).
Growth of juveniles was clearly evident in otoliths and showed annulus formation in May or June (Dery and Mayo 1988).
ADULTS (> 19 CM TL)
Growth is sexually dimorphic in mature black sea bass;'
females grow faster but reach a lower maximum size (Lavenda 1949; Mercer.1978; Wilk et al. 1978). Shepherd and Idoine (1993) suggest that the species can hdve three sex-related growth rates: female, male, and transitional.
Males grew faster than females off New York based on otolith annuli analyses of year 1 and older fish (Alexander 1981). Black sea bass from Massachusetts had growth rates almost double those reported for New York and Virginia, but different growth estimators were used (Dery and Mayo 1988; Kolek 1990; Caruso 1995). Fish from the Middle Atlantic Bight were larger' at age and grew faster than fish from the South AtlanticBight (Mercer 1978; Wenner et al.
1986). Growth is linear to about age 6, then slows; the Middle Atlantic Bight population is larger at age than the South Atlantic Bight population (Wenner et al. 1986).
During warm months, black sea bass share the coastal habitat with several other species, including tautog (Tautoga onitis), spotted hake (Urophycis regia), red hake (U. chuss),
conger eel (Conger oceanicus), ocean pout (Macrozoarces americanus), pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides), northern searobin (Prionotus carolinus), and transients such as gray triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) (Chee 1977; Musick and Mercer 1977; Eklund and Targett 1991).
Inshore trawl surveys included butterfish (Peprilus triacanthus), smooth dogfish (Mustelus canis), round herring (Etrumeus teres),
and windowpane (Scophthalmus aquosus) in the summer group containing black sea bass (Phoel 1985; Gabriel 1992; Brown et al. 1996).
North of Maryland, cunner is a dominant member of the reef ichthyofauna. In estuaries, black sea bass co-occur on oyster shell. plantings with summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus), spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), oyster toadfish (Opsanus tau), and other species (Arve 1960).
REPRODUCTION Like most of the Serranidae, the black sea bass is a protogynous hermaphrodite; most fish mature as females and change to males with additional growth (Lavenda 1949). In the Middle Atlantic Bight, individuals begin to mature at age
Page 3 I (8-17 cm TL) and 50% are mature at about 19 cm SL and 2-3 years of age (O'Brien et al. 1993). The majority of fish in this size group are females (Mercer 1978). The average size of transformation from female to male occurs at 23.9-33.7 cm TL (Chesapeake Bay Program 1996). In the South Atlantic Bight, Cupka et al. (1973) reported that both sexes mature at smaller sizes (14-18 cm SL). Wenner et al. (1986) and Alexander ( 1981) found mature fish at about 10-1I cm (age I+) off South Carolina and New York; a majority of fish were mature at about 19 cm TL and at an age of about 2-3 years. Alexander (198i) reported a decrease in the age and size of sex change since the 1940s with fewer mature males in the New York population; he associated this decrease with increasing fishing pressure. Mercer (1978) reported that 2-5 year old females release between 191,000 and 369,500 eggs.
Based on collections of ripe fish and distributions of egg, black sea bass spawn primarily on the inner continental shelf between Chesapeake Bay and Montauk Pt., Long Island at depths of about 20-50 m (Breder 1932; Kendall 1972, 1977; Musick and Mercer 1977; Wilk et al. 1990; Eklund and Targett 1990; Berrien and Sibunka 1999).
Spawning has been reported as far north as Buzzards Bay and Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts (Wilson 1891; Sherwood and Edwards 1902; Kolek 1990). Gravid females are not generally found in estuaries (Allen et al. 1978).
Larvae have been collected in Cape Cod Bay, but these were probably stragglers swept from Buzzards Bay through the Cape Cod Canal and not the product of local spawning (MAFMC 1996).
Spawning in the Middle Atlantic Bight population occurs from May to July (Kendall 1972, 1977; Musick and Mercer 1977; Feigenbaum et al. 1989; Wilk et al. 1990; Eklund and Targett 1990) during inshore migrations, but can extend to October-November (Fahay 1983; Berrien and Sibunka 1999). Larval distributions presented in Able et al.
(I1995a) suggest spawning occurs earliest off Virginia and North Carolina (in the vicinity of the wintering grounds) and progresses northerly and inshore as inner shelf waters warm.
In Massachusetts coastal
- waters, spawning fish aggregate on sand bottoms broken by ledges; after spawning, the fish disperse to ledges and rocks in deeper water (Kolek 1990; MAFMC 1996). Kolek (1990) reported evidence from tagging studies of homing to spawning grounds. Some tagged adult black sea bass returned to the spawning grounds in northwestern Nantucket Sound where they were tagged. Kolek (1990) also reported this local spawning group spawned earlier and in shallower waters than generally reported by Kendall (1977).
The complex social hierarchy of reef fishes, such as black sea bass, during spawning implies that the number of males may be an important factor limiting reproductive potential (Shepherd and Idoine 1993).
They noted that theoretical studies suggest that, to the degree that non-dominant males participate in spawning, the current relative abundance of males may not be limiting in the black sea bass population. Although nothing is known of the mating of this species, pairing is characteristic of the family (Breder and Rosen 1966).
FOOD HABITS The diet of larval black sea bass are poorly known, but probably consists of zooplankton. Tucker (1989) reported that black sea bass larvae are capable of surviving and growing at lower prey densities, and resist prey abundance fluctuations better, than bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli) larvae.
Juvenile black sea bass are diurnal, visual predators and often prey on small benthic crustaceans (isopods, amphipods, small crabs, sand shrimp, copepods) and other epibenthic estuarine and coastal organisms, such as mysids and small fish (Richards 1963a; Kimmel 1973; Allen et al.
1978; Werme 1981; Figure 3). Kimmel (1973) found that polychaete worms were significant in the diet and reported a shift from mysids (55%) and amphipods (15%) at 3.0-9.0 cm SL to xanthid and other crabs (35%), mysids (19%), and polychaetes (14%) at 9.1-14.6 cm SL. Orth and Heck (1980) reported that sub-adults (14.0-16.5 cm TL) feed in eelgrass beds in lower Chesapeake Bay; their prey included juvenile blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus), eelgrass (Zostera marina) fragments, isopods, caprellid amphipods, shrimp, and pipefish (Syngnathus sp.). Festa (1979) reported lady (Ovalipes sp.), blue, and mud (xanthid) crabs, and caridean shrimp as major diet items in a small sample of fish from a central New Jersey estuary. Allen et al. (1978) reported an increase in the occurrence of anchovies, silversides (Menidia sp.), and plant detritus in the diets of 11-18 cm black sea bass from southern New Jersey coastal and estuarine areas; crustaceans were the most common prey.
During the summer, adult black sea bass feed on a variety of infaunal and epibenthic invertebrates [especially crustacean's, including juvenile American lobster (Homarus americanus)], small fish, and pelagic squid and baitfish (Bigelow and Schroeder 1953; Miller 1959; Richards 1963a; Mack and Bowman 1983; Steimle and Figley 1996; Figure 3). Feeding was heaviest after spawning (Hoff 1970).
The diets and feeding of the offshore wintering population are poorly known.
The potential benthic invertebrate prey in the wintering area can be dominated by echinoderms [e.g., sand dollars (Echinarachnius parma) and sea stars], mollusks [e.g., razor clams (Ensis directus)], and polychaetes; average benthic biomasses are 50-75 g/m 2 wet weight (Wigley and Theroux 1981; Steimle 1990). Some co-wintering guild species, e.g. scup (Stenotomus chrysops)
(Austen et al. 1994), may be competitors for habitat or food.
Other guild species, such as butterfish and squid (Loligo sp.
and Illex sp.), can be prey for adult black sea bass.
PREDATION AND MORTALITY There are many potential predators on larval black sea bass. "Jellyfish" can be a significant source of larval
Page 4 mortality when they are abundant in the coastal zone (Arai 1988).
Hartman and Brandt (1995) found black sea bass, presumably juveniles, in the summer diets of one year old weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) and other predators in Chesapeake Bay. Summer flounder, smooth dogfish, and oyster toadfish are. potential demersal predators of juvenile black sea bass, and juveniles in exposed areas can also be preyed upon by bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix), striped bass (Morone saxatilus), weakfish, and other predators that use the water column, including diving birds.
Steimle (unpublished data) found juvenile black sea bass in the stomachs of the following predators from Raritan Bay (New Jersey) during the summer 1997: clearnose skate (Raja eglanteria), northern and striped searobin. (Prionotus evolans), summer flounder, and spot. Weakfish, bluefish, oyster toadfish, smooth dogfish, and fourspot flounder (Paralichthys oblongus) contained small, partially digested fish similar to juvenile black sea bass.
The Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) food habits database lists the following species as predators of black sea bass: spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), Atlantic angel shark (Squatina dumeril), clearnose skate, little skate (Raja erinacea), spotted
- hake, summer
- flounder, windowpane, and goosefish (Lophius americanus). [See Reid et al. (1999) for food habits database methods.]
An extensive hypoxia/anoxia event in the New York Bight in the summer of 1976 resulted in fish mortalities, avoidance of the area by fish (including black sea bass), and extensive loss of benthic invertebrates (Azarovitz et al.
1979; Steimle and Radosh 1979).
Commercial pot fishermen reported black sea bass mortality and sport divers reported the disappearance of black sea bass and other fish from shipwrecks and artificial reefs along the north-central New Jersey coast. The cause of the condition was the oxygen demand created by the decay of an unusually massive dinoflagellate bloom on the Middle Atlantic Bight continental shelf. This occurred during a period of unusual wind patterns and climate that caused early and strong water column stratification. Anthropogenic influences, such as nutrient exports from urban estuaries to offshore areas, were not confirmed or eliminated as causative factors. Earlier episodes of anoxia/hypoxia in the area caused mortalities or severe stress in fish (ocean pout and cunner) and shellfish (lobster and crabs), but not in black sea bass, tautog, or flounder (Ogren and Chess 1969). The June 25, 1997 Asbury Park Press (New Jersey) newspaper reported black sea bass as one of the fish observed dead in an hypoxic area off the New Jersey coast (dissolved oxygen < 2 ppm).
MIGRATION Black sea bass belong to a group of warm temperate, migrating species that do not tolerate-cold, inshore winter conditions; these include scup, summer flounder, northern searobin, spotted hake, butterfish, and smooth dogfish (Musick and Mercer 1977; Colvocoresses and Musick 1984).
The composition of this group varies between spring, summer and fall (Phoel 1985).
The summer coastal population migrates in scattered aggregates in the fall by generally unknown routes from inshore areas across the continental shelf to outer shelf wintering areas south of New Jersey as bottom temperatures decline (Musick and Mercer 1977). Returns from adult fish tagged in Nantucket Sound (Massachusetts) suggest that the fish migrate directly south to the outer shelf near Block Canyon (south of Rhode Island), move southwest along this outer shelf zone to the vicinity of Norfolk Canyon (off Virginia), and return along the same route (Kolek 1990).
Offshore migrations are stimulated in the fall as coastal bottom water temperatures approach 7VC and the return inshore migration begins in the spring (about April) as inshore bott6m water temperatures rise above 7°C (Nesbit and Neville 1935; June and Reintjes 1957; Colvocoresses and Musick 1984; Chang 1990; Shepherd and Terceiro 1994). Larger fish (a high proportion of which are males) begin migrating offshore sooner than smaller fish (Kendall 1977).
STOCK STRUCTURE The black sea bass population from Cape Hatteras to Cape Kennedy (Florida) is considered a distinct population (Mercer 1978; Shepherd 1991; Collette and Klein-MacPhee, in prep.) and the Gulf of Mexico population is considered a distinct subspecies (C. s. melanus) (Link 1980; Bowen and Avise 1990).
Subpopulations have not been identified within the northern population, although the evidence for a putative local population in Nantucket Sound suggested by Kolek (1990) bears further consideration.
HABITAT CHARACTERISTICS Black sea bass is a warm temperate, demersal species that uses benthic habitats in open water to structured areas for feeding and shelter.
Their distribution changes seasonally as fish migrate from coastal areas to the outer continental shelf while water temperatures decline in the fall and from the outer shelf to inshore areas as water temperatures rise in.the spring. Information on the habitat use, characteristics, and preferences for the major life stages of the black sea bass population north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina is summarized in Table 1.
EGGS The habitat requirements of the planktonic stages of temperate reef fishes are thought to be little different from many tropical species. These requirements involve highly complex biological, physical, and chemical interactions such
Page 5 as predation, oceanographic processes, and food availability (Richards and Lindeman 1987).
Based on the NEFSC Marine Resources Monitoring, Assessment and Prediction (MARMAP) ichthyoplankton survey [see Reid et al. (1999) for details], black sea bass eggs were collected most frequently at average water column temperatures of 12-24'C with a mode at about 15-18'C, except in January and August-September when there was a secondary mode at 20-220 C (Figure 4). The buoyant eggs were collected mostly in < 50 m water depths, but >
5% of the eggs were collected in waters > 240 m in May and October. This wide range undoubtedly reflects the relatively long spawning period, which begins in the spring and extends into the fall, and the seasonal migration of the adult population (from offshore to inshore).
Laboratory spawned C. striata melanus eggs and larvae are sensitive to high salinity, low pH, high nitrite-nitrate concentrations, and temperature extremes (Hoff 1970).
Similar data are not known for C. striata, although comparable sensitivities can reasonably be expected.
LARVAE Based on NEFSC MARMAP survey data, larvae were collected at average water column temperatures of I 1-26'C and were most abundant between 13-2 1"C (Figure 5), which is a slightly wider range than found for eggs. Larvae were generally collected at depths of < 100 m, but several collections during May-July and October occurred over deeper (> 200 m) water. These deep water occurrences could reflect off-shelf transport effects of Gulf Stream gyres (or other oceanographic processes) and possibly reduce their opportunity to settle inshore and find their way into estuarine nurseries.
JUVENILES The distribution and abundance data for reef fish based on towed nets probably do not represent all of the benthic habitats occupied. The NEFSC and state trawl surveys may avoid excessively rough bottom, shipwrecks, and reefs, or tow over them with roller gear that does not sample fish that seek shelter in holes. This potentially under estimates the association of fish like the black sea bass with rough bottom habitats and areas with steep depth gradients. The draft of survey vessels limits sampling in shallow waters and potentially underestimates the association with shallow, coastal habitats. The survey results presented herein are based on trawling and may bias the interpretation of habitat use by black sea bass.
Hydrographic data from the NEFSC groundfish surveys indicate that juvenile black sea bass occurred at bottom water temperatures > 5oC and the largest catches occurred at II-I 2"C in the winter and spring (Figure 6). Juveniles were collected from about 20-240 m with a mode at 90-100 m.
There were temperature modes at about 17) and about 25'C in the summer suggesting use of different habitats or geographic areas; most fish were collected in shallow (around 10-20 m) water.
In the fall, the temperature distribution was wide (9-27'C) with a mode at about 14-15'C; inshore waters < 50 m were preferred. [See Reid et al.
(1999) for NEFSC survey methods.]
Hydrographic data from the Massachusetts spring and fall trawl surveys reflected warmer conditions in shallow coastal areas and were mostly consistent with the NEFSC data (Figure 7).
In Narragansett Bay (Rhode Island),
juveniles (3-13 cm TL) were rarely collected (average of 0.08 individuals/tow) and only from spring through fall at bottom temperatures of II -22°C and depths < 24 m (80 ft)
(Figure 8). In Long Island Sound during the fall, black sea bass (juveniles and adults) were collected at bottom temperatures of 14-19'C, at depths of 5-50 m, and salinities of 23-32 ppt. In the Hudson-Raritan estuary, juveniles were collected at 6-23°C, around 10 m, at salinities > 20 ppt, and dissolved oxygen levels < 4 mg/L (ppm), although some fish were collected at 2 mg/L (Figure 9). [See Reid et al. (1999) for state survey methods.]
Data for juvenile black sea bass in smaller estuaries are scarce; available data are mostly estimates of extremes in tolerance or based on laboratory results (e.g., Hales and Able 1995; Able and Fahay 1998). Within smaller estuaries, natural coastal geological processes can alter the suitability of potential nursery habitat.
For example, the natural opening and closing of inlets in barrier islands along the eastern shore of Virginia can change salinity and temperature regimes in lagoons, which changes the distribution of acceptable nursery habitat and juvenile fish, such as black sea bass (Schwartz 1961).
In many studies of reef fish, such as black sea bass, the availability of shelter limits successful postlarval and/or juvenile recruitment (Huntsman et al. 1982; Richards and Lindeman 1987). The estuarine nursery habitat of black sea bass is shallow, hard bottom with structure (refuge). These include shellfish (oyster and mussel), sponge, amphipod (Ampelisca abdita) tubes, and sea grass beds (especially Ruppia sp.), as well as wharves, pilings, wrecks, artificial reefs, crab and conch pots; and cobble and shoal grounds (southern New England to Cape Cod) at salinities > 8 ppt (Bean 1888; Moore 1892; Sherwood and Edwards 1902; Arve 1960; Hildebrand and Schroeder 1928; Kendall 1972; Derickson and Price 1973; Musick and Mercer 1977; Clayton et al. 1978; Weinstein and Brooks 1983; Feigenbaum et al. 1989; Able et al. 1995a). They also occur at the mouths of salt marsh creeks (Werme 1981; Hales and Able 1994; Szedlmayer and Able 1996; Able and Hales 1997). Able et al. (1995a) reported little use of eelgrass in New Jersey.
Juveniles were not common on open, unvegetated sandy intertidal flats or beaches (Allen et al.
1978), or deeper, muddy bottoms (Richards 1963b). Bean (1888) and Allen et al. (1978) reported that larger juveniles used deeper estuarine channels. In some urbanized areas, there were early reports of juvenile black sea bass using habitats that were formerly common but are now rare, such
Page 6 as oyster beds near Staten Island (Nichols and Breder 1927) and eelgrass beds in Gravesend Bay, Brooklyn (Bean 1902).
Recent surveys in the Hudson-Raritan estuary collected YOY black sea bass usually only where beds of red beard sponge (Microciona prolifera) were common (Steimle, unpublished data).
In estuarine nurseries, YOY and older juveniles can use different habitats. Older juveniles tend to stay in shallower waters (< 10 m) (Musick and Mercer 1977), but not in the shallow shoals and marsh fringe favored by YOY. Older juveniles use channels (Bean 1888; de Sylva et al. 1962; Richards and Castagna 1970; Zawacki and Briggs 1976; Szedlmayer and Able 1996), jetties (Schwartz 1964), and bridge abutments (Allen et al. 1978).
Werme (1981) reported that juvenile black sea bass (3.0-7.5 cm TL) occupied a sandy, saltmarsh creek in southern Massachusetts during August and September with juvenile tautog and winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus). There were differences in diets among these species that would limit competition.
Within structured nursery habitats, YOY black sea bass display high habitat fidelity; they move very little and may be territorial (Werme 1981; Able and Hales 1997). Able and Fahay (1998) observed YOY black sea bass defending a small shell used for shelter from others of its cohort.
There is a lack of information about winter habitats of YOY and yearling black sea bass (M. Dixon, NMFS, NEFSC, Milford Laboratory,
- Milford, CT., personal communication). Yearlings winter on the continental shelf and return to the estuaries the following spring (as early as March in Chesapeake and other bays); more specific winter habitat information is not available. Some individuals may spend the warmer months along the coast in accumulations of surf clam and ocean quahog shells, or in irregularities or holes in exposed clay (Able et al. 1995a).
When temperatures drop below 14'C, the juveniles gradually migrate to deeper and warmer water; few are collected below 6'C (Able and Fahay 1998; Collette and Klein-MacPhee, in prep.).
At temperatures below 6'C in laboratory studies, juveniles bury in the sand; below 4'C they cease feeding and mortality increases (Hales and Able 1995). Juveniles that overwinter in shallow estuaries in New Jersey can experience thermal stress and mortalities (Able and Hales 1997). A sudden cold spell resulted in mortalities in shallow nursery areas off southeastern New England (Baird 1873).
In warmer winters, juveniles overwinter successfully in deeper waters of Chesapeake Bay (MAFMC 1996; Chesapeake Bay Program 1996). Able et al. (I 995a) reported that windrows, patches, or beds of empty, hinged surf clam and ocean quahogshells may be important coastal habitat for juvenile and sub-adult black sea bass.
ADULTS Adult black sea bass orient to structures, especially during their summer residency in coastal waters. Unlike juveniles, adults tend to enter only larger estuaries and are most abundant along the coast. Larger fish are found in deeper water than smaller fish. They occur on shipwrecks, rocky and artifiial reefs, mussel beds, and other objects on the bottom. They are usually observed by divers hovering near or above these shelters and retreat into them if threatened. They remain near structures during the day, but can move away at dawn and dusk -to feed on open bottom (Steimle and Figley 1996).
A characteristic of the northern population of black sea bass is their seasonal migration to southerly and offshore wintering grounds. In the Middle Atlantic Bight, black sea bass adults spend the winter on the middle to outer continental shelf between 30-240 m (with some as deep as 410 m, but most between 60-150 m) generally south of the Hudson Canyon off central New Jersey (Musick and Mercer 1977). Based on commercial catches, some fish spend the winter in deep water (> 80 m) off southern New England (Chang 1990; Kolek 1990; Bigelow and Schroeder 1953).
Water mass movements on the continental shelf influence fish winter distribution.
The distribution of bottom temperatures > 7.5°C may define the potential winter distribution of the species and its associates (Neville and Talbot 1964). Larger fish (mostly males) tend to occur in deeper water (Nesbit and Neville 1935; Musick and Mercer 1977; Able et al. 1995a). Off Virginia, artificial reefs and wrecks are populated with active resident adult black sea bass during most winters and support commercial and recreational fisheries (Chee 1977; Adams 1993). Adams (1993) observed that when bottom water temperatures were near 6'C on inshore artificial reefs, adult fish became inactive and were often found resting in holes and crevices.
Schwartz (1964) reported adult black sea bass in aquaria at 15 ppt salinity stopped feeding at water temperatures below 8'C and died at temperatures below about 2'C.
The offshore habitats occupied by adult black sea bass during the winter are poorly known. There are speculative and anecdotal reports that the northern population is associatedf with rough bottom during the winter (Pearson 1932; June and Reintjes 1957; Neville and Talbot 1964).
The existence of significant amounts of rough bottom in wintering areas has not been confirmed.
Wigley and Theroux (1981) characterized the wintering area as flat sandy-silt with occasional areas of relict and active sand waves of varying size, without hard bottom. There are reports of hard bottom (consolidated clay or rock) near the head of submarine canyons at the shelf edge and in a few other isolated places (Emory and Uchupi 1972; Stanley et, al. 1972; Grimes et al. 1987). Scattered shipwrecks and man-made debris are also available as offshore wintering habitat. Shellfish beds (current and relict) and shallow pits on the mid to outer shelf (possibly created by large crabs, lobsters, or fish) could be used as sheltering habitat (Emory and Uchupi 1972; Folger et al. 1979; Shepard et al. 1986; Able et al. 1995a). Parker (1990) reports that black sea bass burrow into sediments during cold spells off the Carolinas.
This behavior can explain how structure-associated black sea bass accommodate themselves during the winter on the
2 Page 7 relatively featureless offshore continental shelf of the Middle Atlantic Bight. However, burrowing in open, soft sediments may not protect them from trawls or the possible harm from suspended sediments (Churchill 1989). Several other resource species use the same habitat as black sea bass in the winter, including scup, summer flounder, butterfish, squid, and American lobster (Chang 1990; Able and Kaiser 1994).
During the warmer months, adult black sea bass are usually found inshore associated with structured habitats, including eelgrass, oyster, and mussel beds, rocky reefs, cobble and rock fields, stone coral patches, and exposed stiff clay.
Man-made structures include artificial
- reefs, shipwrecks, bridge abutments, piers, pilings, jetties, groins, submerged pipes and culverts, navigation aids, anchorages, rip-rap barriers, fish and lobster traps, and rough bottom along the sides of navigation channels. Towed nets do not adequately sample these habitats. Richards (1963a, b) and others reported that black sea bass in Long Island Sound are
'usually found in structured habitats within areas of sandy sediments and rarely in muddy areas. A continual supply of shipwrecks and anthropogenic debris, and state-supervised artificial reef programs, are increasing the quantity of habitat available to this and associated species.
For adult black sea bass, bottom temperatures about 6-7.5'C or above are a critical factor in habitat use and distribution (Colvocoresses and Musick 1984).
In the NEFSC groundfish survey, adults were most commonly collected at water temperatures of 9-12TC in the winter and spring (Figure 6).
The temperature distribution in the summer when black sea bass occurred in shallow (10-20 m) coastal areas was bimodal with peaks at about 10TC and 25TC (Figure 6). During the fall' adults were collected at 7-27"C; most fish were collected at 13-210 C with a secondary peak at about 25-27"C; fish were collected mostly in relatively shallow water (< 50 m) (Figure 6).
In the spring Massachusetts surveys, black sea bass were collected at bottom temperatures between 6-17TC and at depths < 35 m; most were in II - 14TC and very shallow, around 5 m (Figure 7). In the fall Massachusetts surveys, they were collected at bottom temperatures between 14-23'C and at depths between 5-25 m, most were at depths of < 15 m (Figure 7). In Narragansett Bay, adult black sea bass 21-41 cm TL were rarely caught in trawls (average catch of 0.036 individuals/tow). They were collected mainly in the summer and fall at bottom temperatures between 13-20'C and at depths between 6-38 m (20-110 ft) (Figure 8). Adult black sea bass dominated spring catches in central Long Island Sound; a few were collected in the fall. Black sea bass were collected at bottom temperatures of 6-18"C, from 7-47 m, and at salinities between 25-30 ppt. Black sea bass collected in the Hudson-Raritan estuary had similar temperature and depth ranges; adult black sea bass were collected at dissolved oxygen levels of > 5 mg/L (Figure 9).
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION EGGS Black sea bass eggs were collected during NEFSC MARMAP surveys in the water column across most of the continental shelf from North Carolina to Delaware, and in the New York Bight (Figure 10; Berrien and Sibunka 1999), and have been reported in Buzzards Bay (Stone et al.
1994). The highest egg concentrations in Buzzards Bay occurred between May and October, although they were also collected in January and April (there were no surveys during February).
Eggs were collected inconsistently in Long Island Sound (Merriman and Sclar 1952; Wheatland 1956; Richards 1959) and were not collected in Delaware Bay (Wang and Kernehan 1979) or Narragansett Bay (Bourne and Govoni 1988). Eggs collected as early as January and April off Cape Hatteras were probably the result of spawning in the South Atlantic Bight and transport north by the Gulf Stream, which flows close to the coast off Cape Hatteras (Mercer 1978).
LARVAE During the NEFSC MARMAP surveys, larvae were collected from January to November from Cape Hatteras to southern New England (Figure 11). Larvae first appeared near Cape Hatteras and were collected progressively north and shoreward mostly from June through October; a few larvae were collected in November (Kendall 1972; Able et al. 1995a). According to Pearson (1941), black sea bass larvae were more commonly collected by plankton nets in subsurface tows than by surface tows in June-July 1929-1930 at the mouth of and in the lower Chesapeake Bay.
Larvae are rarely reported in estuaries. Pacheco and Grant (1965) found black sea bass larvae in the Indian River estuary (Delaware) in one of three survey years; a later two-year survey found none in this estuary (Scotton 1970; Derickson and Price 1973). Larvae were not reported in Delaware Bay (Wang and Kernehan 1979), Great Bay (New Jersey) (Able and Faha5, 1998), or the Hudson-Raritan estuary (Croker 1965; Dovel 1981).
Few larvae were collected in Cape Cod Bay (Scherer 1984), Narragansett Bay (Herman 1962; Bourne and Govoni 1988), and other southern New England estuaries (Stone et al. 1994). Neither eggs nor larvae were collected in Mystic River estuary (Connecticut) (Pearcy and Richards 1962). Larvae have been reported in high salinity coastal areas of southern New England in August and September (Stone et al. 1994; Collette and Klein-MacPhee, in prep.). Able et al. (1995a),
discussing Kendall's (1972) note about the absence of larvae in many estuarine surveys, believe that larval settlement occurs in nearshore marine waters, but usually not in estuaries.
Page 8 JUVENILES Recently settled juveniles occur in high salinity areas of most estuaries from North Carolina to southern Cape Cod, and occasionally into the southern Gulf of Maine, during the warmer months. Juvenile black sea bass abundance varied seasonally in the NEFSC fall groundfish surveys (Figure 12). In recent winter surveys, they were collected mostly along the outer continental shelf south of Long Island. As the continental shelf water warms in the spring, they were collected inshore in the Chesapeake Bight. There were few summer surveys, but juveniles were collected in several coastal areas mostly south of New Jersey. However, during this season many juveniles inhabit estuaries or submerged coastal reefs, wrecks, and other structures that are outside of the NEFSC survey area or are poorly sampled by trawl. In the fall, juveniles were common along the coast from southern New England to Maryland, and across the shelf off Virginia7North Carolina; this probably reflects their migration out of shallow coastal areas as these waters cooled.
Only a few juvenile black sea bass were collected in the spring in Massachusetts trawl surveys (Figure 13). They were abundant in the fall south and west of Cape Cod and a few were collected in Cape Cod Bay (Figures 12, 13). In Narragansett Bay, juvenile black sea bass were uncommon but they occurred in most areas (Figure 14); the largest mean catch (1.3 individuals/tow) came from Mount Hope Bay during the summer. Juveniles and 'adults were widespread in the fall in Long Island Sound (Figure 15). In the Hudson-Raritan estuary, juvenile black sea bass werecollected from spring through fall (Figure 16); they were more abundant in 1997 than in the other years of the survey (1992-1997).
Mansueti (1955) reported that juvenile black sea bass were common in the lower Potomac River (Maryland-Virginia).
ADULTS The geographic distribution of the northern population of adult black sea bass is similar to the distribution of juveniles, although adults tend to prefer deeper bays and coastal waters over estuaries. Briggs (1979) suggested that once black sea bass find suitable summer habitat in New York waters, they remain until the fall migration; adult habitat fidelity is consistent with juvenile behavior (Able and Hales 1997).
Black sea bass is normally considered a reef fish. In the warmer months, they are usually closely associated with sheltering habitat in estuarine and coastal waters, generally at depths < 40 m, but they have a wider distribution in the Chesapeake Bight (Figure 12).
Bigelow and Schroeder (1953) and Collette and Hartel (1988) reported occurrences of black sea bass in Massachusetts Bay at the turn of the century and occasionally since then (e.g., Figure 13), but they are rarely caught off New Hampshire and largely absent off Maine and on Georges Bank (Figure 12). At one time, they were captured by gill net over rocky bottom in Maine (Ojeda and Dearborn 1989).
Adults were relatively common in the spring in the Massachusetts trawl surveys (Figure 13). In Narragansett Bay adults were rare, but they were collected from a wide range of sites from spring to fall (Figure 14).
In Long Island Sound, adults were most common in the spring survey in the central sound (Figure 15).
Adult black sea bass were never common in the Hudson-Raritan estuary (Figure 16).
STATUS OF THE STOCKS The black sea bass population in the Middle Atlantic Bight is presently overexploited (National Marine Fisheries Service 1997). Recent CPUE and survey indices have been moderate to low compared to levels in the mid-1970s (Figure 17) and before 1965. Juvenile recruitment was poor in 1992-1993 and above average in 1994 (Shepherd 1998; MAFMC 1996; Northeast Fisheries Science Center'1997).
Spawning stock estimates suggest that the population has been relatively stable since 1984 (Northeast Fisheries Science Center 1997). There were no apparent differences in the distributions of juvenile and adult black sea bass between periods of high (1975-1979) and low (1990-1997) abundance (Northeast Fisheries Science Center, unpublished data).
Arve (1960) attributed declining black sea bass catches in the late 1950s (compared to the relatively high levels of the early 1950s) to a decline in oyster beds.
RESEARCH NEEDS, More information is needed on the use of artificial reefs by black sea bass. The following ideas were discussed in several papers in Fisheries (American Fisheries Society, April 1997, Volume 22, Number 4), a special issue on artificial reef management.
What mechanisms or processes enhance black sea bass production on reefs (e.g., reducing habitat limitation, enhancing larval settlement, alleviating post-settlement demographic bottlenecks, enhancing reef and near-reef food webs)?
How can artificial reefs and habitats be designed to enhance survival and growth of juvenile and adult black sea bass?
Are black sea bass habitat limited such that habitat restoration or enhancement is required?
More general research needs include:
What habitats are used during the winter on the continental shelf in the Middle Atlantic Bight? Where do 1-2 year old juveniles spend the winter? Some may remain in estuaries while others may move to coastal or inner shelf shell beds (Able et al. 1995a; M. Dixon, personal communication).
What are the winter diets of juveniles? Feeding may be reduced at low temperatures.
Page 9 0
Clam shell beds nearshore may provide important habitat at all times of the year, but little is known of distributions of dead -shells or spatial and temporal trends in shell beds.
Do young-of-the-year black sea bass that overwinter offshore return to their natal estuary the following spring (Able and Fahay 1998)?
Adams (1993) identified the following information needs:
Tagging studies to track seasonal migration patterns and identify habitats.
Dietary studies to evaluate the value of specific habitats.
The relationship between habitat structural complexity, black sea bass abundance, and fish community composition.
Suitable habitats for juvenile black sea bass in coastal areas.
If black sea bass are territorial.
Spawning areas, behaviors, and feeding during spawning.
The Chesapeake Bay Program (1996) Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan lists the following research needs:
Seasonal distribution and migration studies to determine size distribution and sex ratios in various areas.
Identify spawning
- areas, determine, spawning production, and estimate optimum size for female maximum viable egg production.
Quantify the diet and seasonal changes in the diet [i.e.,
seasonal importance of blue mussels (Mytilus) and other reef fauna].
Determine the optimum size of submerged aquatic vegetation beds and oyster reefs necessary for nursery and refuge grounds for juveniles.
Investigate the transport mechanism of newly settled juveniles from the coastal zone to estuarine nurseries
,(Able and Fahay 1998).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors had abundant assistance from C. Steimle, J. Berrien, and R. Ramsey-Cross, who provided literature searches, interlibrary loans, and reference material; and D.
McMillan, W. Morse, R. Pikanowski, D. Johnson, S.
Griesbach, J. Vitaliano, and others who helped locate and retrieve data to make the maps, figures, and tables.
REFERENCES CITED Able, K.W. and M.P. Fahay. 1998. The first year in the life of estuarine fishes in the Middle Atlantic Bight. Rutgers Univ. Press, New Brunswick, NJ. 342 p.
Able, K.W., M.P. Fahay, and G.R. Shepherd. 1995a. Early life history of black sea bass, Centropristis striata, in the Mid-Atlantic Bight and a New Jersey estuary. Fish.
Bull. (U.S.) 93: 429-445.
Able, K.W. and L.S. Hales, Jr. 1997. Movements of juvenile black sea bass Centropristis striata (Linnaeus) in a southern New Jersey estuary. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol.
213: 153-167.
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Page 14 megainvertebrates, and associated hydrographic observations collected in Newark Bay, New Jersey, during May 1993-April 1994. U.S. Nati. Mar. Fish.
Serv., Northeast Fish. Sci. Cent. Ref. Doc. 97-10. 91 p.
Wilk, S.J., W.W. Morse, and D.E. Ralph. 1978. Length-weight relationships of fishes collected in the New York Bight. Bull. N.J. Acad. Sci. 23(2): 58-64.
Wilk, S.J., W.W. Morse, and L.L. Stehlik. 1990. Annual cycles of gonad-somatic indices as indicators of spawning activity for selected species of finfish collected from the New York Bight. Fish. Bull. (U.S.)
88: 775-786.
Wilson, H.V. 1891. The embryology of the sea bass (Serranus atrarius). Bull. U.S. Fish Comm. 9: 209-277.
Zawacki, C.S. and P.T. Briggs. 1976. Fish investigations in Long Island Sound at nuclear power station site at Shoreham, New York. N.Y. Fish Game J. 23: 34-50.
Page 15 Table L' Summary of life history and habitat characteristics for black sea bass, Centropristis striata. (YOY = young-of-the-year; SNE = southern New England; MAB = Middle Atlantic Bight; GOM = Gulf of Maine).
Life Stage Time of Year Size and Geographic Habitat Substrate Growth Location Eggs May-Oct; 0.9-1.0 mm; Coastal MAB; Upper water Buoyant in upper water appear earlier incubation 2-5 rarely in column, shore to column in south and days estuaries
> 200 m depth off later in north Virginia Larvae May-Nov; peak Hatch at -2.1 MAB, near As for eggs, < 100 Upper water column June-July; mm-stage lasts shore, mouths m until transition until transition to appear earlier to -15 mm of some to juveniles juveniles in south and transition estuaries, but later in north rarely in them Juveniles April-Dec; 16 mm to MAB into Estuarine -
Rough bottom, YOY most settle 100 mm TL by GOM. inshore coastal; 38 m; shellfish, sponge, and June-Nov Nov and into salt marsh edges eelgrass beds, estuaries mid-
& channels; high nearshore shell patches, late summer habitat fidelity man-made objects Juveniles Dec-April 12 cm; MAB: Most Mostly deeper Nearshore shell patches Winter growth rate move offshore than 38 m; may and other shelter on reduced and south of prefer 90-100 m; sandy bottoms New Jersey to mid and outer warmer, deeper continental shelf waters and Chesapeake Bay Adults April-Dec
> 19 cm FL; Coastal: MAB 38 m; larger Mussel beds, rock, Summer growth into GOM fish stay in deeper artificial reefs, wrecks sexually waters and other structures dimorphic Adults Nov-March
> 19 cm FL Most move 30-240 m depths; Poorly known, possibly Winter offshore and mostly 60-150 m available shelter on south of New mid/outer offshore silty sand Jersey to continental shelf; (e.g., pits) warmer (>
otherwise poorly 6°C) waters, known Spawning May-Oct, peak
> 19 cm FL; Inshore MAB, 50 m Over sand, sand with Adults in June; begins' mature at age south to north, rock, and reefs in the south 1 +
during and progresses migration north
Page 16 Table 1. cont'd.
Life Stage Temperature Salinity Prey Predators Notes Eggs Sensitive to Sensitive to Most planktivores Lab studies suggest eggs extremes extremes where the eggs sensitive to high nitrate-are found nitrite concentrations and low pH Larvae I 1-26°C. mostly 30-35 ppt:
Use yolk Most planktivores Benthic settlement and 14-23°C; sensitive to reserves in a where the larvae transition to juvenile occurs sensitive to extremes few days; are found at 16 mm FL, July to extremes feeding begins October on zooplankton at -6 mm Juveniles YOY 6-30'C, prefer 8-38 ppt. prefer Small Sharks, dogfish, Most migrate to warmer 17-25°C 20 ppt epibenthic skates, hakes, offshore or more southerly invertebrates, searobins, waters in winter. Hypoxia especially summer flounder, can inhibit growth crustaceans and others and mollusks Juveniles
> 50C: sudden 12-38 ppt, Small Sharks, dogfish, Migrate inshore and Winter drops < 4'C prefer > 18 ppt.
epibenthic skates, hakes, northerly as waters warm >
inshore can cause invertebrates, searobins.
6°C; over-wintering mortality fish. but summer flounder, juveniles return to coastal feeding may be and others estuarine areas reduced Adults 28°C, mostly
> 20 ppt Benthic and Sharks. dogfish, Mortality and avoidance at Summer 13-21oC near-bottom skates, hakes.
dissolved oxygen levels < 2 invertebrates searobins.
ppm and small fish summer flounder, and others Adults Winter
> 6VC. prefer 9-35 ppt Poorly known; Sharks, dogfish, The 6-7.5°C isothermal I2°C benthic and and others boundary greatly influences near-bottom distribution; activity and invertebrates, survival reduced below this small fish, temperature butterfish. and squid; feeding may be reduced Spawning
> IO°C, peak at -
> 15 ppt Poorly known; Sharks, dogfish, Spawn in coastal bays but Adults 18-20°C benthic and and others not in estuaries; mature near-bottom mostly as females, most invertebrates, change sex to males with small fish, growth butterfish. and squid; feeding may be reduced
Page 17
/
Figure I. The black sea bass, Centropristis striata (from Goode 1884),
Page 18 Figure 2. Distribution and abundance of black sea bass in the Northwest Atlantic during 1975-1994. Data are from the U.S. NOAA/Canada DFO East Coast of North America Strategic Assessment Project (http://www-orca.nos.noaa.gov/
projects/ecnasap/ecnasapjtable I.html).
Page 19 1-20 cm (n=289) a) 1973-1980 Arthropoda 41.5%
21-60 cm (n=358)
Arlhropoda 79.0%
Other Prey Groups 2.7%
Ltrochordata 4.0%
Annelida 4.3%
M ollsca 10.2%
Unkino5 Animal Remains 16.7%
Other Prey Groups 2.7%
Fall (n=239)
Spring (n=263)
Arthropoda 71.9%
Other Prey Groups 4.4%
All Other Prey 2.1%
Cnidaria 2.0%
Annelida 2.2%
Unknowe Animal Remains 4.9%
b) 1981-1990 11-20 cm (n=49) 21-60 cm (n= 106)
Arthropoda 67.5%
Fish 1.1%
Mollscca 3.2%
Arthropoda 739%.
Unknown Animal Remains 21.8%
3.Other Prey Grorrs 2.%
Fish 7.7%
Unknowm Animal Remains 8.4%
Fall (n=82)
Spring (n=72)
Arthropoda 68.3%
Fish 2.7%
Miscellaneous Materials 3.0%
Annelida 3.0%
Echinoderata 5.7%
Mollusca 16.6%
Unknown Animal Remains 18.0%
Unknown Animal Remains 18.7%
Figure 3. Abundance of the major prey items in the diets of juvenile (< 20 cm) and adult (> 20 cm) black sea bass collected during NEFSC bottom trawl surveys from 1973-1980 and 1981-1990. Abundance in the 1973-1980 samples is defined by mean percent prey weights, and in the 1981-1990 samples as mean percent prey volume. The category "unknown animal remains" refers to unidentifiable animal matter. Methods for sampling, processing, and analysis of samples differed between the time periods [see Reid et al. (1999) for details].
Page 20 Black Sea Bass Eggs 8 January s,.nons 20 I
Wg a
- 8 April 20 1, 0 40 10 40 20 o,
20'-
July 38 20,-
August I0 2
J Wa-teber-T u
30
- October, 10 I0 0
2 4
6 8
10 12 14 16 19 20 22 24 26 28 Water-Column Temperature (0-20Ore, C)
Black Sea Bass Eggs i40.
June I
July 2o-17O Bottom Depth (m), Interval Midpoint Figure 4. Abundance of black sea bass eggs relative to water column temperature (to a maximumof 200 m) and bottom depth from NEFSC MARMAP ichthyoplankton surveys (1978-1987) by month for all years combined. Open bars represent the proportion of all stations surveyed, while solid bars represent the proportion of the sum of all standardized catches (number/10 in 2).
Page 21 Black Sea Bass Larvae, <13mm length 70 Janu ary I(X 3T March ~
40 a-Stations SStations Larva Catch I
1)1 3( -
20 I0 Ma ty 1
0~
0 30 2)
I0 0
20 I0 20 t0 0
2O 3"
20 41) 3))
20I 0
June I
SJuly September J
I..
M.
October JJJJ 1Novemb er 1
r]
U.
Black Sea Bass Larvae, <13mm length 90 20 January StaOns 3
March 20 SApril I0 4()
~us 20_J J
May 10 30 Jun eptme 10 7Oj~
20 July 1-0 20' L. -J 0 Pl B
om Depth (in)*. Inera Midpoint 30 August 20 I0 0
E 5O 30 September 20 70 30 November Bottom Depth (m), interval Midpoint 0
2 4
6 6
I) 42 14 16 16
- 2) 22 24 Water-Column Temperature (0-200m, C) 26 28 Figure 5. Abundance of black sea bass larvae relative to water column temperature (to a maximum of 200 m) and bottom depth from NEFSC MARMAP ichthyoplankton surveys (1977-1987) by month for all years combined. Open bars represent the proportion of all stations surveyed, while solid bars represent the proportion of the sum of all standardized catches (number/l 0 i 2).
Page 22 Juveniles: < 19 cm TL FALL 25 20
-15 7
8
[ STATIONS N=991" L*CATCHES N=,"01 WINTER 50 45 OSTATK3NS N
7 40 rI*CATCHES N= 1427 35 30 S252*
10 5"
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 BOTTOM TEMPERATURE (C) 5 6
7 8
9 10 11 12 13 BOTTOM TEMPERATURE (C)
SPRING 60 1 50 U STATIONS N-537 MCATCHES N=3717 40 II30 to!
0, 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 I1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 89 20 BOSTOM TEMPERATURE (C)
SUMMER 45 40 35 3O 25 15 120
'5 0o 2 STATIONS N(1)I
- CTHES _' 1'23 5 8 9 0 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 2021 22232425 2627 29 BOTTOM TEMPERATURE (C)
FALL WINTER 50 45 -;
40 35 30 u 25 20o 15 25 T o STATIONS N=991
- CATCHES N=8389 20 15 10 5
I I o STATIONS N=178
- r. CATCHES N=1427 ST Lr 0
20 40 60 80 100 120 200 250 DEPTH (Is) 0 10 30
.50 70 90 110 130 150 190 240 DEPTH (m)
SUMMER SPRING 8035351 t_____
31 STATIONS N-537 25 CATHES N=CACH 7
20i 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 250 280 320 410 DEPTH (m) 100 90 80 60 5o 40 30 20 to 0
OSTATON'S 1 3E 0
10 20 30 50 90 DEPTH (I)
Figure 6. Seasonal abundance of juvenile (< 19 cm) and adult (Q 20 cm) black sea bass relative to bottom water temperature and depth based on NEFSC bottom trawl surveys (1963-1997, all years combined). Open bars represent the proportion of all stations surveyed, while solid bars represent the proportion of the sum of all standardized catches (number/l10 M 2).
Page 23 Adults: > 19 cm TL FALL WINTER E STATIONS N=W 2 CATCHES N=2567 10 8
o STATIONS N=178 m CATC-ES N=2452 6
4 2
1W I
J~~.U ~
Pilo I3 mEAE 0%
m H 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16"17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 BOTTOM TEMPERATURE (C) 5 6
7 8
9 10 11 12 13 BOTTOM TEMPERATURE (C
SUMMER SPRING 30 25
~20 15 I
10 o STATIONS N=537
- CATCHES N=7724 4dL 3
4 5 6 ' 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 2D BOTTOM TEMPERATURE (C
FALL BOTTOM TEWEHRAT1RE (Q
WINTER SSTATIONS 1=991
- CATRES W=2667 30 25.
15.
10-5.
0 25-20-5-
'0-5.
SPRING SUMMER B
5STA70NS N=537 M CATCHES 9=7704 AVhL4 O JJ.l*
DEPTH H)
DEPTH E.)
Figure 6. cont'd.
Page 24 Dir.
.lr
- 1.
1,-*,i 50' 40-30' 20' 10" M*
Juveniles laC.I.
S
, U,
-S t
ass. Inshore Trawl Surveys 1 Satcons Adults 25" Spring 20" Spring 15-10" han 5
n HA
,-l, c,)
I 1 3 5 7
9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 Bottom Temperature (C)
Autumn 0
5 0
1 3
5 7
9 II 13 15 17 19 21 23 Bottom Temperature (C) 40" 0
Spring 20"-
0" 0 -
Bottom Depth (m) 50" 10-lAutumn 30" 0
0 3
I 1
I 7 1 1 2 0i LQQP4F-~
1 3
5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 Bottom Temperature (C)
I Spring 1
3 5
7 9
I1 13 15 17 19 21 23 Bottom Temperature (C) 60" 40-20-I-Lin, rl n rl --
N 8
'A rS Bottom Depth (m)
I 50-40-30-20-10-II Autumn Unnnn 1
.~~~~~
F.innL\\.J-F2 v
Bottom Depth (m)
Bottom Depth (m)
Figure 7. Abundance of juvenile and adult black sea bass relative to bottom water temperature and depth based on Massachusetts inshore bottom trawl surveys (spring and autumn 1978-1996, all years combined). Open bars represent the proportion of all stations surveyed, while solid bars represent the proportion of the sum of all standardized catches (number/lO0 M2).
Page 25 Black Sea Bass Juveniles (<19cm) F 20 ws Winter
- 12. 4n Black Sea Bass Juveniles (<19cm)
[
Winter
-1 I
3 5
7 9
II 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 100~
80~
60 40 20 0
- 3. 5 7
-1 1
'3 5
7 9
11 Spring 80-60' 40-20-nH IF1M M
Spring 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 0D 100-80~
40 MI Summer r.n n nfln 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 601 401 Summer 20 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120
- 0.
1
- n
,.,,7.,1
..,2 2.
-I 1
3 5
7 9
II 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 40' 30' 20-10-FMF.I I In Autumn n ~...L.
- ~'
~.*
--I I
3 5
7 9
II 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 Bottom Temperature (C)
Bottom Depth (ft)
Figure 8. Seasonal abundance of juvenile and adult black sea bass relative to bottom water temperature and depth from Rhode Island Narragansett Bay trawl surveys, 1990-1996. Open bars represent the proportion of all stations surveyed, while solid bars represent the proportion of the sum of all catches.
Page 26 Black Sea Bass Adults (>=I9cm) 20' 16' 12' 8'
4, Black Sea Bass Adults (>= 19cm).
['~
C~~wh-30-w.
Winter 20-j -IT 1 r i r Minter
-I I
3 5
7 9
II 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 80 60 Spring 40' 20'
-1 1
3 5
7 9
11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 30' Summer 20' 10-0 -1 I
3 5
7 9
11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 f
50 40 Autumn 30' 20*
10 n
-1 1 3 5 7
9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 Bottom Temperature (C)
II I I
I I I I I I
I I
I I I I I I
I I
I 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 40 'Spring 20 ' F1 A
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 40' 30 Summer 20' 10 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 50 40 Autumn 30 20I0L1FF I-l 20 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 Bottom Depth (ft)
Figure 8. cont'd.
Page 27 Juveniles (< 19 cm) 15 0 10 5-0' 35.
30'
- 25 20 FL1 Stations Catches Iý 25 20 15 10 5
. ))ill r_1 rI 0
2 4
6 8
10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 Temperature (C) 26 a-4 0
1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
910 11 12 13 Dissolved Oxygen (mg/i) 25-20' 15" 10 5t 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 Salinity (ppt) l1 10 15 20 25 30 35 65 70 75 80 85 Depth (ft)
Adults (_Ž19 cm) 35.
30 25 20
- -4 15 10 5.
.I[:: Stations UCatches nt huu I C.)
80' 70' 60 50-40 30 20 10' I -111n[I I
,.F6FI [inn H H 1 Fi rm E..
0 2
4 6
8 10 12 14 16 18 20 2224 Temperature (C) 26 U0
'-4 U
C) 1-0*
0 1 2 3
4 5
6 7
8 9
10 11 12 13 Dissolved Oxygen (mg/l) 20-15-10-5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 Depth (ft)
U
'15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 Salinity (ppt) 33 35 Figure 9. Abundance of juvenile and adult black sea bass relative to bottom water temperature, dissolved oxygen, depth, and salinity from Hudson-Raritan estuary trawl surveys (January 1992 - June 1997, all years combined).
Page 28
- 45.
45-t I
I"__
Black Sea Bass Black Sea Bass S
(Cent roprivsis striata)
~
~~(Centropritiss xi ata)
Eggs 4
Eggs 1
MARMAP Ichthyoplankton Surveys V
MARMAP Ichthyoplankton Surveys 6 61-cm Bongo Net; 0,505-mm mesh 4161-cm Bongo Net; 0.505-mm mesh o
197to,987 iy 41--
(Jan. Apr. May. Jun.,
~
)
~
<- ~ __
January; 1979 ito 1987 Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct) o\\2Numhrrt To- = 433: withceggs
= I 42-Num42
-f Tow = 6662; with eggs = 376 42-Monthly Mean Density = 0.023 Egeu/lOmre 41-41-39 39E'm Ecs 3
[
ma Nomn
- lOto<1(6)
S 0 5 111) to 535 76 75 74 73 72 71
- 71) 65 9
I 67 66 65 76 75 74 7 3
72 71 70 69 68 67 66 65 45-'
L....
45 1 L
L 2
S L.....
Black Sea Bass Bla Sea Bass 44 (Cetropistis striata)
~
(Centropristis striata)
Eggs
.,\\O Eggs MARMAP Ichthyoplankton Surveys MARMAO Ichthyoplankton Surveys
/.
461-cm Bongo Net: (.55-mm mesh 61)-cm Bongo Net: 0.505-m.m mesh April; 1978 to 1997 May;'978 to 1987.
NttmbeorlTows = 1021: wtith eggs= 11
`4)S~tmc.~os=118:wt 42 Montihly Mean Densitty (11013Eggsllt' E
0,
42-MnthlyMonO tniy=-',
e.**
t.
.Ž?W
-I-39.
Note Now 37 I :o3 "37 1 I
- 10
- IO1".100
,~~
1 WX Ito 177 36 36_"
3-35 r,
76 75 74 73 72 71 70 69 68 67
.66 65 76 75 74 73 72 7t 710 69 68 67 66 65 Figure 10. Distribution and abundance of black sea bass eggs collected during NEFSC MARMAP ichthyoplankton surveys, 1978-1987 [see Reid et al. (1999) for details]. The upper left figure is all months and all years combined, the remaining figures are individual months for all years combined.
Page 29 45.- !
-_1 Ei Black Sea Bass a44 (Centropri.tis striata)
S-Eggs MARMAP Ichthyoplankton Surveys 43 61-cm Bongo Net: 0.505-mm mesh June: 1979 to 987 Nutnhm of Tows = 709: with eggs = 43 42-Monthly M ean Dnnsity= 2.713 Eggn/tOn.
41-.
Ees/
2~n
- None I too<1) 10tonl100 IOlo1 199 3576 7-74 73 76 7.5 7n4 7'3 7'2 Black Sea Bass 4
(Centropristis striata)
Eggs 1 MARMAP Ichthyoplankton Surveys 43 61 -cm Bongo Net; 0.505-mm mesh August; 1978 to 1997 Number ofTows = 863; wilh eggs = 120 42-1i Mtnthly Meon Density = 6.630 Eggs/IOe*'
41--
No
- I to
<10
( I(Oto 535 357-75
- 74.
7-3
--72 76 7.5 74 73 72 71 70 69 68 97 66 Figure 10. cont'd.
Page 30 Black Sea Bass
- 44.
(Centropristis striata).
A Eggs MARMAP Ichthyop,,,,tn Surveys 43-61-cm Bongo Net; 0.505-mm mesh October; 1979 to 1987 t4 Nuomher ofiTn)w = 1044: ith cgg.- 16.
r \\
42 Monthly Mean Density 0 0154 Egg IIOin
- 2.
2 40-,
39-i5 Eggs 1 0m None 37,
/*1o 1
36 r
35 76 75 74 73 72 71 70 69 --
68 67 66 65 Figure 10. cont'd.
Page 31 Black Sea Bass Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata)
(Centropristis striata)
Larvae. <13mm length
.s Larvae, <133mm length MARMAP Ichthyoplankton Surveys MARMAP lchthyoplankton Surveys 61 -cm Bongo Net; 0.505-mm mesh 61 -cm Bongo Net; 0.505-mm mesh (Jan, M to Apt, May0nJanuary; 1977 to 1987 Jul, Augr Ap, May, JNov)
Number of Tows = 434; with larvae = 5 4] Nithmoe of Tow.s = 10149: with larvae = 376 42-MothlyMýM nDonnity = 066L an/to
- 41.
41-a" 39-39
~
38-a
- 6r/
i, L
/a 3m I
t7%
1 1-10 37-..<
0 2005to245 36-36
.35 ) -
35-76 75 74 73 72 7'
7(
69 66 67 66 65 76 75 74 73 72 7I 70 69 68 67 66 65 Black Sea Bass
,*4*'.
BlIack Sea Bass (Centropristis striata)
(Centropristis striata)
A Larvae, <13mm length 441 Larvae, <13mm length MARMAP lchthyoplankton Surveys 4"
s/ o C
MARMAP lchthyoplankton Surveys 61-cm Bongo Net; 0.505-mm mesh 61-cm Bongo Net;1 0.505-amm mesh March; 1977 to 1987 Q
/'
April; 1977101967 Num of..To
.= 1031: with larvac.. I A
-r
=
h 0
42-Montthly ean Denitty 0 ().00(2 Larvae10m 42 Monthly Mean Den.sily =00.128 Larae/I ql 41 I
_,, ]
I..
Lava 10 10 o9 9 0NS..
Z.a No..'~
3* 7 L~5 Ito 3 71
- 36.
36--
76 75 74 73 72 71i
- 70) 69 69 617 66 65 76 75 74 7'3 7*2 1
/
70 619 6'8 67 646 65 Figure 11. Distribution and abundance of black sea bass larvae L(<
13 rm) collected during NEFSC MARMAP ichthyoplankton surveys, 1977-1987 [see Reid et al. (1999) for details]. The upper left figure is all months and all years combined, the remaining figures are individual months for all years combined.
Page 32 4".
i
___1
.W ____z.~.~
L Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata)
Larvae, <1 3mm length vo MARMAP Ichthyoplankton Surveys 61-cra Bongo Net; 0.505-mm mesh / £tI<
May; 1977 to 1987 Numbhr,,fTws = 1472: with larvae = 10 42 M,,,,hly Mean Density = 0.066 Larvae/10,en
-6~
40".'
39 376 76 75 74
,73 7'2 7'1 70 69 45 Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata)
Larvae, <13mm length MARMAP Ichthyoplankton Surveys 61-cm Bongo Net: 0.505-mm mesh 431 July: 1977 to 1987 Numbenrf Tosr =938; with larae = 59 42 Monthly Mean Density = 1.062 Larvae/tOmn' 41-40-39-.-
Larvae / (ho' None
- It lotlO S101,o24 69 67 66 Larvae 10m None I
o<10 0 10!t:,t:00 S0 llOto 170 7
7 73 72 7
70 69 6
67 66 74 73 72 71 711 69 6
67 66 Figure 11. cont'd.
Page 33 45-I. -.
t t.----
45 I
I I
I Black Sea Bass Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata)
?y (Centropristis striata) 44-Lave,< mmlnth,-
Larvae,*;
<1 mlegt Larvae, <I13mm length MARMAP lchthyopl~akton Surveys MARMAP Ichthyoplankton Surveys LarvaBono et;
<13 0mm mengh
,l o'
\\Lrae 1mmlnt 61-cm Bongo Net; 04535mm mesh 61-cm Bongo Net: 0.505-mm mesh September: 1977 to 1967 No o f r =7 :w2 Numher fTo....
1147: with I.r-oe = 24 42-1 Monthly Mean Dennily 1.734 Larvae/10m' 1 42-Monthly Mean Dern*ity =
-262Larvae/t 0m' 4 4./-
39 39.N eo 38-38-
,+
37-~
o'v IhootlO
-to
- 1""o100 1"6 Io t0010255 36-36 76 75 74 73 72 71 711 i6 60 67 66 65 76 75 74 73 7'
7t 710 69 69 67 6
6 Black Sea Bass (Centroprisrtis striata) 4 Larvae, <13mmen length MARMAP Ichthyoplankton Surveys 61-cmBongoNet:
,1515.-mmmesh-November; 1977 to 1997 N m nher, f "Tow rs = 10 3 1: w ith tar ve 8 0,.*-
42-- Monthly Me.. D.ensy 10039 Laretm10,n 39,
\\
1 SL* /Larvae I oum' No..
3576 75 74 73 72 71 701 69 68 67 66 65 Figure 11. cont'd.
Page 34 760 740 720 700 680 660 760 74-720 700 680 660 1*-i.,o,~ --,7o r
!/'
i
- " i 110 Abet L00 Present xr t
42'-v
_1-
/
4O**
3Y*
- 'dBlack sea Bass--Juveniles 1< a8 cm)
'...Black Sea Bess--Juveniles (<
a1 cm)
S Fal1(1963-1996)
Winter (1964 - 1997)
- 36o, NEFSC Bottom Traw Surveys
-i 3 0L 6rau h~isCauhtfsatin (ecluing ullstatons:
Fsh Caught/station (excluding null stations):
R~Mean:Cuh/tto16 Min: 1 Max:(eddn914 nulsain)
- Mewnl1 Min: 1Max: 178, Length (cm):
Length (KM
,....f Blac Mean: 9 Min: 3 Max: 18
)MG
- 1A B
l n: 4 Max: 18 a
76' 74" 72° 70*
680 66*
76" 74L 72n 70e 68r 661 36 NEPS..-
Bo "o Trw Surey 360L EFS Bottom :..
Tral.urey Leng thPresent):enth (n
34
- 44" 11100 Piresent 1
01 - 100.
I
- A.b sen 1000I'(
,I.
- 10 -
-0,,.,,-.' "
42"L 42
.-,L I
- I Black Sea Bass-Juveniles (<= 18 cam)
Back Sea Bass-Juveniles:
18 a)
Spring (1968-1997)
I "p
Summer (194 - 1995)
NEFSC Bottom Trawl Surveys 360 NEFSC Bottom Trawl Surveys Fish Caught/station (excluding nuF stations):
Fish Caughtlslstaon (excluding null stations):
Mean. 14 Mini Max: 847Me:2Mi:2ax93 Length (a):
I ItI.V Length (an:
Mean 14 Min: 2 Max: 18 Mean: 13 ln: 3 Max: 18 Figure 12. Seasonal distribution and abundance of juvenile and adult black sea bass collected during NEFSC bottom trawl surveys, 1963-1997 (all years combined). Densities are represented by dot size in spring and fall plots, while only presence and absence are represented in winter and summer plots [see Reid et al. (1999) for details].
Page 35 Figure 12. cont'd.
Page 36 Black Sea Bass Black Sea Bass Mass. Inshore Trawl Survey Mass. Inshore-Trawl Survey Spring 1978-1996,
Autumn 1978-11996 Juveniles (<19cm)
Juveniles (<19cm)
NtjntorTowNumhcr/fmw AK0 I to 50 100 to 5900 Vf....
00 o,0 I
- ,*-'-=C
- Jl.
'J 14
~ ~~
~
U S.:,.
Black Sea Bass Black Sea Bass Mass. Inshore Trawl Survey Mass. Inshore Trawl Survey Spring 1978 - 1996 Autumn 1978-1996 Adults (>=.9cm)
Adults (>=i9cm)
.....*.L°......
I* **.*
.,P*,*.:,t
(*S..:..,....,.
NttnhWrThw
/t(<Nttmhrfrow I StoO 25 51 10 I
2to5 In 51' 2 0
[9 50 to 88 20 In 24I
- i.
-7 Figure 13. Distribution and abundance of juvenile and adult black sea bass collected in Massachusetts coastal waters during spring and autumn Massachusetts trawl surveys, 1978-1996 [see Reid et al. (1999) for details].
Page 37 Black Sea Bass Juveniles (< 19 cm)
Figure 14. Distribution and abundance of juvenile and adult black sea bass collected in Narragansett Bay during 1990-1996 Rhode Island bottom trawl surveys. The numbers shown at each station are the average catch per tow rounded to one decimal place [see Reid et al. (1999) for details].
Page 38 Black Sea Bass Adults (>= 19 cm)
Figure 14. cont'd.
Page 39 1"
Eq jElWJU&M~
'4 -OD C
r4 G
G G
r...
G
-q ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ O W-q r
9r4r 4t4t
~ ~
4fl f
S10-25-J~~~lL~
N lu~
k.
0 GO
- N GO r- *D r-OD C
r-OD a OD Leqd (-)
Figure 15. Distribution, abundance, and size frequency distribution of black sea bass collected in Long Island Sound during spring and autumn Connecticut bottom trawl surveys, 1992-1997 [see Reid et al. (1999) for details].
Page 40 Figure 16. Seasonal distribution and abundance of juvenile and adult black sea bass in the Hudson-Raritan estuary collected during Hudson-Raritan estuary trawl surveys, 1992-1997 [see Reid et al. (1999) for details].
Page 41 Figure 16. cont'd.
Page 42 Gulf of Maine and Middle Atlantic 4-I
,i
, i Commercial landings (mt)
Spring survey index (no.)
Smoothed survey index (no.).
-8 00 U,
-.1 3
2 1-0C 0
Cz 4
CO ci)E
-a C,)
0 9
1 9 6 5 I
9 7 5 I
1 9 I I
99 I
2 0 0 0
960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 Year Figure 17. Commercial landings and NEFSC bottom trawl survey indices for black sea bass in the Gulf of Maine and Middle Atlantic Bight.