Animal
Striped bass
Morone saxatilis
Also known as: striper, rockfish
An anadromous fish — born in freshwater, lives much of its life in saltwater, returns to freshwater to spawn — and the principal recreational sport fish in New York Harbor. Striped bass nearly collapsed in the 1980s due to over-fishing and pollution; a 1985 fishing moratorium and pollution remediation drove a multi-decade recovery. Now abundant in waters around Staten Island, especially during spring and fall migration runs through the harbor.
Scientific
Morone saxatilis is a large (5–50 lb common, up to 100+ lb) anadromous fish native to the Atlantic coast from the St. Lawrence to Florida. Spawns in freshwater — Hudson River, Chesapeake Bay tributaries, [[harrington-delaware|Delaware]] River — in spring; juveniles live in estuaries; adults move to coastal Atlantic waters and migrate seasonally along the coast. Diet primarily fish (menhaden, herring, eels) and crustaceans.
Population collapsed in the 1970s–early 1980s from a combination of over-fishing, river-spawning-habitat pollution, and acid rain affecting tributaries. A 1985 East Coast fishing moratorium plus Clean Water Act enforcement drove a multi-decade recovery. The species was declared rebuilt in 1995 and remains a flagship marine-fisheries-management success — though recent stock assessments have shown renewed concern.
On Staten Island
Spring and fall migration runs bring striped bass through harbor waters around the borough. Recreational anglers fish the harbor edges, the shipping channels, and the deeper waters off [[annadale|Staten Island]] in significant numbers. The species is the borough’s principal recreational saltwater target.
The harbor’s striper fishery is contingent on continued forage-fish (especially menhaden) abundance and on estuarine water quality.
See also
Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.
- Substrate of: [[new-york-harbor-estuary]] · [[atlantic-menhaden]]
- Member of: [[animal]]
- Contained by: [[staten-island]]
Sources
- Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission striped bass stock assessments
- NOAA Marine Fisheries striped-bass-recovery records
- NY State DEC saltwater-recreational fishing records
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Scientific
substrate of
- Atlantic silverside Atlantic silversides are a principal prey species for striped bass alongside menhaden
counterpart to
- Bluefish the borough's two main predator gamefish — bluefish more aggressive and surface-pursuit, striper more structure-oriented and ambush
2 inbound links · 4 outbound