The striped bass (
Morone saxatilis) is a highly prized sportfish, which, although anadromous (meaning it migrates between salt and freshwater) can live its full life in fresh water. They are sleek silver fish that sport dark longitudinal stripes and are also known as Atlantic striped bass, stripers, linesiders, rock, pimpfish, or rockfish. Striped bass are one of six species belonging to the Moronidae family (temperate basses); they are not related to the black basses (which are in the sunfish family Centrarchidae). Striped bass commonly reach a length of 120 cm (3.9 feet), and are thought to live up to 30 years. Native to the Atlantic coastline and drainage waters of North America, the striped bass has been widely introduced to large reservoirs across the United States for recreational fishing, and also for the purpose of controlling populations of non-native gizzard shad (
Dorosoma cepedianum). “Stripers” have also been introduced into the pacific coast of North America, and into waters in Ecuador, Iran, Latvia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and Turkey. Although their numbers declined in the early 1980s due to overfishing, subsequent management plans and a presidential order signed by George W. Bush in 2007 have returned them to healthy, "not overfished" (according to The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission) status. Striped bass are the state fish of Maryland, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and the state saltwater fish of New York, Virginia, and New Hampshire. (
Wikipedia 2002;
Executive order 13449;
Shepherd, 2006)
