Consumer Willingness to Pay for a Saline Fish Species Grown in the US Midwest: The Case of Striped Bass, Morone saxatilis

2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-171
Author(s):  
Kwamena K. Quagrainie
2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Latour ◽  
David T. Gauthier ◽  
James Gartland ◽  
Christopher F. Bonzek ◽  
Kathleen A. McNamee ◽  
...  

The striped bass (Morone saxatilis) is an economically and ecologically valuable finfish species that inhabits nearshore and estuarine waters of many states along the US Atlantic coast. Chesapeake Bay provides extensive nursery and foraging habitats for striped bass, yet fish in the bay exhibit high prevalence of disease caused by bacteria in the genus Mycobacterium. Detection of population-level impacts associated with mycobacteriosis has been difficult because the disease is chronic and synoptic biological and disease data have been limited. Here, we present modeling analyses of growth data for disease-positive and -negative striped bass in Chesapeake Bay. Three growth relationships were considered, and for each, a single model was parameterized to include several covariates, most notably disease status and severity. Our results indicate that disease-positive and -negative fish have differing growth patterns and that the estimated asymptotic sizes of disease-positive fish are considerably lower than those of disease-negative fish. Compromised growth along with documentation that striped bass in Chesapeake Bay are experiencing disease-associated mortality suggests that disease may be reducing the productivity of this species.


2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
pp. 1346-1352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas E. Grout

Abstract Anadromous populations of striped bass occur along the Atlantic coast of the US from Maine to North Carolina. Recruitment overfishing and declining water quality led to substantial reductions in striped bass abundance during the 1970s and 1980s. Cooperative interstate fishery management of striped bass began in 1981, with the development of a fishery management plan by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, an organization of Atlantic coastal states. Effective fishery management and additional research and monitoring contributed to a tenfold increase in abundance of striped bass stocks by the late 1990s. This dramatic increase resulted in increased predation on a variety of anadromous fish species including American shad, blueback herring, and alewives. Predation by striped bass on Atlantic salmon smolts in North America has been documented, but the impact of this predation has not been quantified. Moderate to strong correlations were found between estimates of striped bass abundance and the return of Atlantic salmon to three of the four major New England salmon rivers. Further research is required to quantify the proportion of smolt production consumed by striped bass, particularly for salmon populations listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act.


2020 ◽  
Vol 142 ◽  
pp. 47-53
Author(s):  
K Béland ◽  
G Séguin ◽  
S Lair

An unusually high mortality rate due to verminous (Philometra rubra) coelomitis was documented in wild-hatched striped bass Morone saxatilis raised in a fish hatchery as part of a stock restoration program. To decrease the parasitic burden and therefore potentially minimize mortality, the effectiveness of 2 different anthelmintics was evaluated. Two trials were conducted on wild-collected fingerlings naturally infected by P. rubra. In 2006, 144 yearling fish were randomly assigned to 4 experimental groups: (1) levamisole (Levasol®) at 2 mg l-1 via immersion for 8 h once weekly for 3 wk; (2) levamisole at a dose of 2.5 mg kg-1 biomass via feed once daily for 7 d; (3) emamectin benzoate (Slice®) at a dose of 0.05 mg kg-1 biomass via feed once daily for 7 d; and (4) control. Emamectin successfully eliminated live nematodes in 84.9% of the fish, whereas the administration of levamisole, either via immersion or feed, was not successful in significantly reducing the number of live P. rubra. In 2007, the administration of the same dosage of emamectin to approximately 1000 naturally infected yearling striped bass was associated with a 100% mortality rate of P. rubra in the 30 fish randomly examined 5 wk after the beginning of the treatment. Results of these trials indicate that, at the dosage used, the administration of emamectin at the end of the summer is safe for striped bass yearlings and considerably reduces the prevalence and intensity of the infection by this parasite.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 507-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Vanalderweireldt ◽  
P Sirois ◽  
M Mingelbier ◽  
G Winkler

Abstract After being extirpated from the St. Lawrence River in the 1960s, striped bass (Morone saxatilis) were reintroduced to the estuary in 2002 and by 2008, they were naturally reproducing. To document the habitat use and feeding ecology of this reintroduced population, we examined the gut contents of 333 larvae and juveniles. Samples were collected in four estuarine habitats in 2014: the upstream freshwater section (UP), the oligohaline (O-ETM) and the mesohaline (M-ETM) estuarine turbidity maximum zones, and the downstream polyhaline section (DOWN). In June, pelagic larvae developed in the UP and the O-ETM, feeding mainly on copepods such as Eurytemora affinis. The O-ETM exhibited better suitable feeding conditions compared to the UP, likely due to the presence of Bosmina sp. as a primary prey. After July, striped bass shifted to larger prey items, consuming mainly dipteran pupa in upstream littoral habitats and gammarids and mysids in downstream habitats. In the early summer, the UP provided a high-quality nursery habitat and as the season progressed, the smallest juveniles dispersed downstream and improved their feeding success by exploiting a new feeding niche. This observation suggests that being distributed throughout the estuary may increase the potential survival of striped bass early life stages.


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