Success of Juvenile Striped Bass in Two Bay Systems in Mississippi: 1980-1984

11 Pages·1991·7.4 MB·English

by  Ronald R Lukens

Gu^Research Reports, Vol. 8, No. 3, 317—327, 1991
SUCCESS OF JUVENILE STRIPED BASS
IN TWO BAY SYSTEMS IN MISSISSIPPI: 1980-1984
RONALD R. LUKENSS LARRY C. NICHOLSON^ AND
J,Y. CHRISTMAS, HP
^GulfStates Marine Fisheries Commission, P. O. Box 726,
Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564
CoastResearch Laboratory, P,0, Box 7000,
Ocean Springs, Mississippi 39564
ABSTRACT Successofa stripedbass(Morone saxatilis,Walbaum) stockingprogramintheBiloxiBay
and St. LouisBay systems inMississippi was investigated by monitoringthe occurrence ofjuveniles inbag
seinecollections in the Biloxi, Tchouticabouffa, Jourdan, and WolfRivers. A total of534juvenile striped
bass were collected during the study. Hydrographic data and stomach analyses indicate that neidier water
conditions nor food was a limiting factor to juvenile striped bass survival. Appearance of juveniles
subsequent to the stocking ofAtlantic coast fry and fingerlings coupled with lateral line scale count data
indicate that all juveniles collected were of Atlantic coast origin, originating from stocked fry and
ringerlings. Absence ofjuvenile striped bass in samples when stocking did not take place indicates either
Introduction Materials and Methods
Striped bass {Morone saxatilis - Walbaum) were in- Coastal Mississippi rivers which were sampled dur-
digenoustoallmajorriversystemsalongtheMississippi ing 1980 through 1985 include the Biloxi and Tchouti-
Gulfcoast until the early 1950s (Wailes 1854, Pearson cabouffaRiversoftheBiloxiBaysystemandtheJourdan
1938, Raney andWoolcott 1955, Cook 1959, andMcll- and WolfRivers ofthe St. Louis Bay system. In 1980,
wain 1976). According to Mcllwain (1976), (he last station locations included estuarine waters, while in
recorded catch of a native striped bass in Mississippi 1981-1984 only freshwater locations were sampled
(prior to any stocking efforts) occurred in the West Stations were selected by locating sand beach areas
Pascagoula River in 1%7, Reasons for the decline of where abeach seine couldbe usedeffectively. At least
native .striped ba.ss in Mississippi are speculative, rang- one river mile separated stations, and station beaches
ing from dam construction, to poor water quality, to wereseparatedbyabeachinbetweenwhenpossible. In
pesticide pollution (Nicholson et al., 1986). 1980, 12stationsweresampledprimarilyontheTchouti-
In 1969, a program was initialed to reestablish the cabouffa River, and eight stations were sampled on the
stripedbasspopulationalongtheMississippiGulfCoast. Jourdan River. Beginning in 1981, estuarine stations
Since the establishment ofthe restocking program, over weredroppedandriverinestationsontheBiloxiandWolf
9millionstripedbassfingerlings havebeenstockedinto Rivers were added (Figures 1 and 2).
the tributaries of Mississippi Sound. A recreational A 15 X 2 meter bag seine with 6 millimeter bar,
fishery has developed as a result ofthe stocking effort. knotless, nylon mesh was used to sample ichthyofauna.
The size and value of this fishery is not known but the Ifmore than five striped bass were collectedat any one
stripedbassfisheryisarecognizablesegmentofthetotal station, five specimens were retained in a buffered
recreational fishery on the Mississippi Gulf Coast formalinsolutionandlatertransferredtoa40%isopropyl
(Nicholson et al., 1986). Ajuvenile striped bass moni- alcohol solution for subsequent analysis. All other
toringprogramwasbegunin1973inaneffontoascertain striped bass were counted and released alive. All fish
the effectiveness of stocking efforts and to attempt to otherthanstripedbasswhichwerecollectedwereplaced
document natural reproduction. in plastic bags, held on ice, and later frozen for subse-
quent analysis. All sampling was conducted immedi-
atelyfollowingsunset andwasusuallycompletedbefore
midnight. Sampling was conducted twice monthly from
June through September for an annual total of eight
Manuscript received April 12, 1990; accepted July 17, 1990.
sampling trips per river.
317
318 Lukens et al.
Rivers.
Tchouticabouffa
and
Biloxi
the
on
locations
Station
1.
Figure

320 Lukens et al.
Growthratesweredeterminedbycalculatiog thedif- Results
ferencebetweenaveragelengthandweight offishatthe Biloxi Bay System
time of stocking with measured length and weight of
juvenilestrit^edbasscollectedoverthetimethefishwere A total of 179 juvenile striped bass were collected
at large. during the study. Positive collections occurred only
Food availability for all life stages ofstriped bass is during 1980-1982. No juvenile striped bass were col-
an important habitat criteria in determining success of lected during 1983 and 1984. Mean total length (TL)
stocking activities. Of the juvenile striped bass which ranged from 68.54millimeters(mm)to98.02mm,while
wereretainedandpreservedinthe40%isopropylalcohol mean weight ranged from 6,90 grams (g) to 9.91 g.
solution^217wereexaminedforstomachcontents. Each Growth rates inmm perday and gperdayranged from
stomach was removed, opened with a scalpel, and the 0.8 to 2.3 and 0.09 to 0.11, respectively (Table 1).
contents identified and enumerated under a binocular Measurements of hydrographic parameters for the
microscope. Identification ofstomach contents was not Biloxi River (Table 2) resulted in temperatures ranging
taken to the species level in most cases. from 18.0° to 32,0°C, with mean values ranging from
Lateral line scales, ic. scales with noticeable pores, 25.6°Cin1982to27.5°Cin1981. DOvaluesrangedfrom
were counted on all juvenile striped bass specimens re- 4.6ppm to 8.2ppm, with mean values ranging from
tained in collection for the purpose of discriminating 5.8 ppm in 1981 to 6.9 ppm in 1983. Values for pH,
between specimens of Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico measured only in 1984, ranged fi-om 4.7 to 7.1 with a
origin. Countsweremadeonbothsidesofthefishunder mean of5.8.
a binocular microscope. Measurements of hydrographic parameters for the
Hydrographicmeasurements takenconcurrently with Tchouticabouffa River (Table 3) resulted in tempera-
bag .seine hauls, included water temperature (1980- tures ranging from 17,5°C to 34.5°C, with mean values
1984), dissolved oxygen (1980-1983), conductivity and ranging from 22.8°C in 1983 to 27.8°C in 1980. DO
pH (1984), and salinity (1980). Instruments used to valuesrangedfrom3.4ppmto8.3ppm,withmeanvalues
collecthydrographicdatawere anA/OGoldberglefrac- rangingfrom5.1ppmin1981to6.3ppmin1980, Salinity
tometer, a Yellow Springs Instrument (YSI) Model values, measured only in 1980, ranged from 0 partsper
51-B oxygen meter, a YSI TSC meter, and an Orion thousand(ppt)to 22ppt. Values forpH, measuredonly
Research Model 221 pH meter. in 1984, ranged from 4.5 to 6.5 with a mean of5.2.
TABLE1
Frequency ofstripedbass, meantotallength,meanweight,andgrowthratesper dayfortheBiloxiBay System.
Growth Growth
X X Rate Rate
Frequency TL(mm) Weight(g) (mm/day) (g/day)
1980 43 98.02 9.91 0.8 0.09
1981 63 70.25 6.90 1.3 0.11
1982 73 68.54 7.72 2.3 0.10
- - - -
1983 0
- - - -
1984 0
Juvenile Striped Bass Success 321
TABLE2
Minimum^maximum,andmeanvaluesoftemperature(**C)anddissolvedoxygen(ppm)fortheBUoxlRiverduringJune
throughSeptemberof1980through 1984. MeasurementsofpHareprovided for 1984only.
TEMPERATURE DISSOLVEDOXYGEN pH
MIN MAX X MIN MAX X MIN MAX X
1980
1981 23.0 32.0 27.5 4.7 6.7 5.8
- - -
1982 22.0 28.5 25.6 4.6 8.2 6.6
- - -
1983 18.0 22.2 27.0 5.7 8.0 6.9
- - -
1984 24.0 28.0 26.3 4.7 7.1 5.8
TABLE3
Minimum,maximum,andmeanvaluesoftemperatureanddissolvedoxygenfortheTchoutlcabouffaRiverDuringJune
throughSeptemberof1980through1984. SalinityIsprovidedfor1980andpHfor 1984.
TEMPERATURE DISSOLVEDOXYGEN SALINITY pH
MIN MAX X MIN MAX X MIN MAX MIN MAX X
- - -
1980 17.5 34.5 27.8 4.0 8.3 6.3 0 22
- - - - -
1981 25.0 30.0 27.6 4.0 6.6 5.1
- - - - -
1982 23.0 29.0 24.4 3.4 7.2 5.8
- - - - -
1983 18.5 28.0 22.8 3.8 7.6 6.2
- - - - -
1984 25.0 29.0 27.6 4.5 6.5 5.2
322 Lukens et al.
St. Louis Bay System Lateral Line Scale Counts
A total of 381 juvenile striped bass were collected All stripedbass fry and fingerlings stocked into the
from 1980 through 1983. Nonewere collectedin 1984. BiloTciBayandSt.LouisBaysystemswereacquiredfrom
MeanTLrangedfrom66.7mmto108.9mm,whilemean hatcheries in South Carolina and Virginia. Barkuloo
weightranged from 4.33 g to 14.27 g. Growth rates in (1967) used lateral line scale counts to separate striped
mm perday and gperday ranged from 0.82to 1.30 and bass ofAtlantic andGulfofMexicoorigins. Atotal of
0.07 to 0.17, respectively (Table 4). 332juvenile striped bass were examined for both right
Measurements of hydrographic parameters for the and left side lateral line scale counts in an effort to
JourdanRiver(Table5)resultedintemperaturesranging ascertainifanyspecimenswereofGulfofMexicobrood
from 17.5°Cto 33.5®C, with mean values ranging from stock. The numberoflateral line scales onthe left side
23.8®Cin1983to27.6°Cin 1981. DOvaluesrangedfrom ofthefishexaminedrangedfrom46to64,whiletheright
4.0ppm to 9.4 ppm, with mean values ranging from sidecountrangedfrom47to65. Themeanforbothsides
5.4 ppm in 1981 to 6.5 ppm in 1983. Salinity values, was 57(Table 8),indicating thatall collectedspecimens
measuredonlyduring 1980,rangedfrom0ppito 15ppt. were of Atlantic slock origins.
Values forpH,measuredonlyduring 1984, ranged from
4.8 to 6.8 with amean of5.8. Other Ichthyofauna
Measurements of hydrographic parameters for the
Wolf River (Table 6) resulted in temperatures ranging Data for ichthyofauna other than striped bass were
from 18°C to 31.5®C, with mean values ranging from collected for survey years 1981 through 1983. In the
21.8®Cin1983to27.0°Cin1984. DOvaluesrangedfrom BiloxiBaysystem,atotalof 14,415 fishrepresenting43
5.8 ppm to8.6ppm, withmeanvaluesranging from 6.7 species were collected. In the St. Louis Bay system
ppmin1981to7.5ppmin1983. ValuesforpH,measured 23,901 fish were collected, representing 40 species. In
onlyduring 1984, rangedfrom 5.0to6.4withameanof both cases, the ten most frequent species represented
5.9. 87% ofthe total (Tables 9 and 10).
Description ofStomach Contents
Discussion
The stomach contents of 217 juvenile striped bass
wereexamined (Table7). Ofthe43 fishexaminedfrom The two primary reasons for conducting the striped
the Biloxi Bay system in 1980, 20 containedunidentifi- bass juvenile monitoring program were to assess the
able digested material. Mysid shrimp {Taphromysis survivalofjuvenilestripedbassstockedintheBiloxiand
louisiannae) were found in 16 stomachs, while seven St.LouisBaysystemsandtodocumentnaturalreproduc-
stomachs containedpartiallydigested fish. From theSt. tion. Inthe Biloxi Bay system, numbersofstripedbass
Louis Bay system in 1980, all six fish examined con- fingerlings stocked were 411,479 in 1980; 566,070 in
tained mysid shrimp; however, two also contained par- 1981 and85,000in1982. Allfishduringthisperiodwere
,
tially digested fish, while one also contained insect stocked during the months of May or June as Phase I
larvae, fingerlings, averaging 22.5 mm TL, In 1983 and 1984,
The stomach contents of 42 juvenile striped bass all stocked fish were Phase 11 fingerlings, ranging from
takenfromtheBiloxiBaysystemin1981wereexamined. 100 to 150 mmTL andwere stockedduringNovember.
Fifteenstomachswereempty,while 18 containedmysid Juvenile stripedbass were found inrivers afterstocking
shrimp. Tenstomachs containedpartially digestedfish, during early summer and were found to be of Atlantic
one ofwhichwasidentifiedasthebay anchovy{Anchoa stock origin. During 1983 and 1984 when stocking of
mitchelli). Insect larvae were found in six stomachs, fingerlings occurred in November, juvenile striped bass
while amphipods were found in five. Two stomachs were not found in the June through Septembersamples.
containedunidentifiabledigestedmaterial. Thestomach The fact that juveniles collected in 1980-82 were of
contents of 126 fish were examined from the St. Louis Atlantic stock origin and corresponded with stocking
Bay system during 1981. Seventy-two stomachs con- efforts and the absence of anyjuveniles in the years of
tained mysid shrimp, while 32 contained unidentifiable Novemberstockingindicatethateithernatural spawning
digested material. Twenty-one stomachs contained didnottakeplace orthateggs orlarvaedidnotsurvive
insects and 15 contained amphipods. Five stomachs if spawning did occur.
contained partially digested fish, two of which were of Data gathered from examining the stomach contents
the genus Notropis, and one of which was identified as of 217 juvenile striped ba.ss during 1980 and 1981
a hogchoker (Trinectes maculatus). Nineteen stomachs indicate the occurrence of several types of food items.
were empty. The mysid shrimp, Taphromysis louisiannae, was the
JiA^ENiLE Striped Bass Success
323
TABLE4
Frequency ofstripedbass, meantotallength,meanweight,andgrowthratesper dayfortheSt.LouisBaysystem.
X X GROWTHRATE GROWTHRATE
FREQUENCY TL(mm) WEIGHT(g) (mm/day) (g/day)
1980 6 108.9 14.27 1.12 0.17
1981 215 66.7 4.96 0.82 0.07
1982 115 72.1 4.33 1.30 0.09
- - - -
1983 45
- - - - -
1984
TABLE5
Minimum,maximum,andmeanvaluesoftemperatureanddissolvedoxygenfortheJourdanRiverduringJunethrough
September of1980through 1984. SalinityIsprovidedfor1980andpHfor 1984.
TEMPERATURE DISSOLVEDOXYGEN SALINITY pH
MIN MAX X MIN MAX X MIN MAX MIN MAX X
- - -
1980 17.5 33.5 26.3 4.2 9.4 6.4 0 15
- - - - -
1981 22.5 32.5 27.6 4.0 6.6 5.4
- - - - -
1982 23.5 29.0 26.6 4.4 6.9 5.9
- - - - -
1983 19.0 29.5 23.8 5.3 7.6 6.5
- - - - -
1984 25.0 28.0 25.2 4.8 6.8 5.8
324 Lukens et al.
TABLE6
Minimum, maximum, and mean valuesoftemperature and dissolved oxygenfor the WolfRiver duringJunethrough
September of1980through 1984. MeasurementsofpH areprovidedfor 1984cmly.
TEMPERATURE DISSOLVED OXYGEN pH
MIN MAX X MIN MAX X MIN MAX X
1980
1981 22.0 31.5 26.8 5.8 8.0 6.7
- -
1982 24.0 29.0 26.2 6.8 8.6 7.2
- -
1983 18.0 28.0 21.8 6.3 8.4 7.5
- -
1984 26.0 29.0 27.0 5.0 6.4 5.S
TABLE?
FooditemsfoundinthestomachsofJuvenilestripedbassf^omtheBiloxiandSt.LouisBaysystemsin 1980and 1981.
UNIDENTIFIABLE
MYSID DISGESTED TOTAL
YEAR SHRIMP FISH INSECTS AMPHIPODS MATERIAL EMPTY EXAMINED*
BiloxiBaySystem
- - -
1980 16 7 20 43
1981 18 10 6 5 2 15 42
St, LouisBaySystem
1980 6 2 1 - - - 6
1981 72 5 21 15 32 19 126
Juvenile Striped Bass Success
325
TABLES
326 Lukens et al.
TABLE 9
The 10 most frequent species collected from the Biloxi Bay System, 1981—1983.
GENUS/SPECIES FREQUENCY %
Notropis texanus 2,989 24
Notropis venustus 2,748 22
Labidesthes sicculus 1,706 8
Hybopsis amblops 953 8
Micropteruspunctulatus 945 7
Lepomis megalotis 890 6
Lepomis macrochirus 772 5
Notropis species 632 5
Leiostomusxanthurus 492 4
Ictaluruspunctatm 408 3
TOTAL 12,535 87
TABLE 10
The 10 most frequent species collected from the St.Louis Bay system, 1981
GENUS/SPECIES FREQUENCY %
Notropis venustus 10,196 49
Hybopsis amblops 2,817 14
Notropis texanus 2,669 13
Notropis species 1,778 9
Labidesthes sicculus 726 3
Anchoa mitchelli 701 3
Ictaluruspunctatus 593 3
Notropis longirostris 493 2
Notropispetersoni 416 2
Trinectes maculatus 405 2
TOTAL 20,794 87