Aquatic Species at Risk - Striped Bass (St. Lawrence Estuary)

Description
Habitat
Threats
Scientific Information
Further Information

Description
This spiny fish with an elongated, laterally compressed body has two separated dorsal fins, the first of which is spiny. It has seven or eight horizontal dark stripes along its sides. In the St. Lawrence, the striped bass can live up to twenty years and reach a total length of 90 cm.

Stocking of a striped bass, Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse, 2005.
Jean Robitaille

Range of the historic population of St. Lawrence Estuary striped bass.
Jean Robitaille

Habitat
Striped bass are typically associated with estuaries and coastal waters. They travel along the coast in compact schools of same-size fish, feeding on invertebrates and fish. Striped bass are an anadromous fish - spawning, incubation and early larval development occur in freshwater in the spring. The young subsequently move downstream to brackish water and then on to salt water where they feed and grow until they reach maturity.

An abundant striped bass population is an indicator that a river and its estuary are in good condition: the species requires high quality spawning and nursery habitat and abundant aquatic species for food.

Threats
The St. Lawrence Estuary striped bass population was heavily exploited by commercial and sport fishing which led to its extirpation in the late 60s. Moreover, the disposal of dredged material in a section of the seaway is believed to have contributed to confining immature striped bass to a limited area along the south shore where fishing subsequently became concentrated. The last time a striped bass was caught in the St. Lawrence Estuary was in 1968.

In 2002, the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec launched a major striped bass reintroduction program and banned the sport and commercial fishing of this species. Dredging could still pose a threat to the species, but its impact should be less important because of improvements in dredging practices. Other threats such as disturbance of habitat, contamination, and exotic invasive species could also affect the survival and recovery of the species.

Scientific Information

Scientific name: Morone saxatilis
SARA Status: Listed, Schedule 1 (June 2011)
COSEWIC Status: Extirpated (Nov. 2004)

Further Information
The Quebec government has conducted a reintroduction program since 2002. Between 2002 and 2010, close to 6,300 striped bass measuring over 60 mm in length and more than 15 million larvae, 2 to 4 mm long, were stocked in the St. Lawrence between Saint-Pierre-les-Becquets and Rivière-Ouelle. This reintroduction program is already showing encouraging signs; for example larvae from natural reproduction have been captured.

St. Lawrence striped bass are protected by the Species at Risk Act and by the Quebec Fishery Regulations. Under these Regulations, striped bass must be immediately released when caught, in the area where they are caught and with due precaution not to injure the fish. A network monitoring incidental captures of striped bass has been implemented to obtain a first biological portrait of the reintroduced population and a better description of habitat use.

An awareness campaign has been conducted and a new educational tool was developed to inform commercial and sports fishermen about the obligation to return accidentally captured striped bass to the water.

For more information about striped bass, St. Lawrence Estuary population, and to know how to contribute to its recovery, consult its recovery strategy. This document describes the twelve threats to the species, defines the recovery objectives, outlines the key actions to be taken to protect it and identifies critical habitat for juveniles.

See also:

DFO. 2011. Assessment of Habitat Quality and Habitat Use by the Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) Population of the St. Lawrence Estuary, Quebec. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Sci. Advis. Rep. 2010/069

Striped Bass St. Lawrence Estuary population, Species at Risk Public Registry