Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) are an estuarine species that can be found from Florida to Canada.

A long-lived species (at least up to 30 years of age), striped bass typically spend the majority of

their adult life in coastal estuaries or the ocean, migrating north and south seasonally and

ascending to rivers to spawn in the spring.

 

Mature females (age six and older) produce large quantities of eggs), which are fertilized by mature

males (age two and older) as they are released into riverine spawning areas. While developing, the

fertilized eggs drift with the downstream currents and eventually hatch into larvae. After their

arrival in the nursery areas, located in river deltas and the inland portions of coastal sounds and

estuaries, they mature into juveniles. They remain in coastal sounds and estuaries for two to four

years and then join the coastal migratory population in the Atlantic Ocean. In the ocean, fish tend

to move north during the summer and south during the winter. Important wintering grounds for

the mixed stocks are located from offshore New Jersey to North Carolina. With warming water

temperatures in the spring, the mature adult fish migrate to riverine spawning areas to complete their life cycle. The majority of the coastal migratory stock originates in the Chesapeake Bay spawning areas, with significant contributions from the spawning grounds of the Hudson and Delaware Rivers. - ASMFC