The Striped Bass

The Striped Bass, also known as the rockfish, were once overfished, but then the state started to manage them, and implement laws to return their populations to a sustainable level. The state was successful in doing so, because now the Striped Bass Populations are the highest they've been in decades. Striped bass larvae and postlarvae drift downstream toward nursery areas located in river deltas and the inland portions of the coastal sounds and estuaries. Juveniles typically remain in estuaries for two to four years and then migrate out to the Atlantic Ocean. Striped bass spend the majority of their adult life in coastal estuaries or the ocean, which is why so many are found in the Chesapeake area. During different stages in their life cycle, striped bass feed on zooplankton, fish larvae, insects, worms, amphipods, Bay anchovy, spot, menhaden, herring, shad, white perch, and yellow perch. This shows how important they are in the food web. They are a main predator, and do not have very many predators Because they are an important predator, and abundant in the Chesapeake Bay estuary they are a keystone species.