Austin, Herbert M.

Estes, A. Deane

Kriete, William H.

Olney, John E.

Travelstead, John G.

English

College of William & Mary: W&M Publish

W&M ScholarWorks Reports 2-1-1982 Striped Bass, Morone saxatilis, spawning season and grounds in Virginia River with notes on concomitant fisheries John G. Travelstead Virginia Institute of Marine Science Herbert M. Austin Virginia Institute of Marine Science William H. Kriete Virginia Institute of Marine Science A. Deane Estes Virginia Institute of Marine Science John E. Olney Virginia Institute of Marine Science Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/reports  Part of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons Recommended Citation Travelstead, J. G., Austin, H. M., Kriete, W. H., Estes, A. D., & Olney, J. E. (1982) Striped Bass, Morone saxatilis, spawning season and grounds in Virginia River with notes on concomitant fisheries. Marine Resource Report No. 82-2. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.25773/v5-hcw4-z394 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Reports by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact scholarworks@wm.edu. Striped Bass, Morone saxatilis, spawning season and grounds in Virginia River with notes on concomitant fisheries Virginia Marine Resource Report 82-2 A Report Presented to The Virginia Marine Resources Commission Prepared by John G. Travelstead Herbert M. Austin William H. Kriete A. Deane Estes John E. Olney The Virginia Institute of Marine Science in cooperation with The Virginia Marine Resources Commission • Spawning time: Spawning Areas: Striped Bass, Morone saxatilis, spawning season and grounds in Virginia Rivers, with notes on concomitant fisheries. Summary Noticeably influenced by changes in water temperature, spawning occurs between 10°C and ?4°C with periods of peak spawning occurring at 15°C (59°F) - 20°C (68°F). Progressing northward geographically, peak periods of spawning occur later in the season as warmer temperatures progress'northward. The above temperatures correspond to the period March 15 to June 15 which brackets the majority of spawning activity while peak spawning occurs between Aprill and May 1. Generally spawning areas range from the furthest point of salinity intrus.ion to a point as far as 30 miles upstream. James River: mi.le 35..,t,O to Hopewell, Chickahominy River: mouth to Walker's Dam, Pamunkey River: West Point to mile 60, Mattaponi River: West Point to mile 60, and Rappahannock River: mile 40-45 to mile 70-75. Concomitant Fisheries: Shad: stake gill net, drift gill net, pound net, fyke net Catfish: fish pot, pound net, fyke net, trot line White perch: pound net, fyke net Herring: pound net, fyke net Eels: fish pot .. Introduction Striped Bass, Morone saxatilis, spawning season and grounds in Virginia Rivers, with notes on concomitant fisheries. The delineation of striped bass spawning grounds in Virginia waters is essential to our future protection of this valuable resource. In the Virginia tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay region, there have been very few studies which present direct evidence of striped bass spawning activity (Table 1}. Tresselt (1952} attempted a pelagic egg survey of all major_ Virginia rivers using anchored plankton nets during April and May of the 1950 spawning season. The study was severely limited by inadequate sampling effort over space and time, by the lack of quantitative, concurrent collections, and by the resulting highly variable data set. Although eggs were collected in all rivers, only in the Mattaponi River were they collected in appreciable numbers. In an extension of Tresselt's work, MassmanI\ Ladd and Mccutcheon (1952) described spawning activity Ln the Rapp.cihannock River Juring spring 1951. Although utilizing anchored plankton nets, Massmann et al. (1951) provided useful temporal data by weekly sampling for eggs from 26 March - 4 June 1951. In an unpublished thesis, Rinaldo (1971} systematically surveyed the York-Pamunkey rivers for the presence of eggs and larvae during April - 'July 1966 • . The sampling design ·followed that of Massmann et al. (1966) and revealed patterns in spawning intensity, location and duration. Finally, Merriner et al. (1980} reported on incidental catches of~ saxatilis eggs and larvae in an entrainment study at the VEPCO Nuclear Power Station near Hog Island on the James River. Currently, an intensive three-year survey of striped bass spawning grounds in Virginia rivers is being conducted by Planktology Department personnel of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. The study, supported by the National Marine • Fisheries Service as part of the Chafee Emergency Striped Bass Amendment, is designed to provide data on the intensity, duration and location of spawn during the period 1980 - 1982. Presently, analysis of spawning activity in the York River system during spring 1980 is complete (Grant and Olvey, 1981) and samples resulting from 1981 surveys of the James and Chickahominy rivers are in final stages of analysis. During spring 1982, an intensive survey of the Rappahannock River is planned. This report summarizes existing knowledge on the location and times of spawning of striped bass in Virginia waters, updates information being gathered by ongoing surveys, and comments on commercial fishing activities conducted on potential striped bass spawning grounds. The resulting discussion is intended to augment pending decisions of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission related to management of striped bass fisheries. The spawning grounds of the striped bass correspond approximately to specific VMRC coded water bodies. Reported landings w:Lthin these v~,m.c des Lgn.ated areas therefore ar.e a reasonable approximation of the spawning ,area landing·s, and are used in this report to that purpose. Spawning Season Spawning peaks of striped bass are apparently triggered by noticeable changes in water temperature and, thus, vary greatly from season to season. (Setzler et al., 1980). Spawning activity in Virginia rivers has been directly observed (as indicated by the presence of viable eggs in plankton collections) during April and May (Table 1). These data indicate that mean water column temperatures of 10 -24°C bracket spawning activity with peak abundances of eggs occurring in water temperatures of l5°C (59"'F) - 20°C (68"F). Given normal variability in meterological conditions and the inherent inadequancies of sampling methodology, spawning activity in Virginia waters can be expected between the period mid-March through early June of each year. .• Spawning Grounds Gravid fish ascend the rivers to the tidal freshwater areas where spawning occurs. As with temporal considerations, the exact area of spawn will vary yearly due to prevailing meterorological conditions which affect salinity distributions. As an example, the current drought condition (1980-1981) has significantly increased salinities in normally oligohaline portions of Virginia estuaries. As a result, spawning activity can be expected to be displaced upriver from "normal" spawning areas. Spawning locations in river miles from the river mouth is summarized for all Virginia rivers in Table 1. It is important to note that the actual location of any individual spawning event is not directly measured by the presence of planktonic eggs. Tidal excursions of eggs may account for displacements of up to 8 miles in either direction depending on current direction and magnitude. In the James River, spawning has been documented to occur between J25 (vicinity of Surry Power Stat ion) and J66 (v:tclnity of Turkey tslan.d Cutoff). Spawning in the Chickahominy may be limited to only the first '•-6 river miles. In the case of the Chickahominy, however, tidal excursions of eggs may solely account for their presence in the river. Thus, the conclusion that spawning takes place in the Chickahominy may be erroneous. In the Pamunkey and Mattaponi rivers spawning occurs from the river mouth (P31 and M31) to P60 (Liberty Hall on the Pamunkey) and M43 (Wakema on the Mattaponi). Spawning on the Rappahannock River occurs between Mallory's Point (R40) to Leesville (RSB). Landings of striped bass in these selected spawning areas for 1977-1981 are presented in Table 2. The Potomac River and upper Rappahannock River support the largest landings of striped bass in the state as seen in Fig. 1. Concomitant Fisheries Data (Table 3) on pound nets were collected by semi-monthly aerial counts .• • of actively fishing pound nets. Counts of fyke nets, anchor and stake gill nets were collected by observers in small vessels at the peak of the Alosa spawning run in mid-April. Information on drift gill nets was obtained from interviews with inspectors from VMRC, seafood dealers who bought shad, agents for VMRC and fishermen. The number of nets listed for each gear are minimal estimates of actively fished gear. The mileages listed represent the areas normally utilized when these gears are fished. Several other commercial fisheries operate in the area representing potential striped bass spawning grounds (Table 3). There is a large stake gill net, drift gill nets, pound, and fyke net fisheries for shad on the rivers in or just below the "spawning areas". Also present is a substantial catfish fishery utilizing pound nets, fyke nets, trot lines, catfish pots and sometimes haul seines. Other species such as white perch, herring, and some freshwater species are taken in the pound nets, and fyke nets. An eel pot fishery on some r:f.vers overlaps ,striped bass spawning :range. Landings of these species i.n the major strtped bass spawning zones are shown in Table 4. ' . Table l. Summary of investigations of striped bass spawning activity in Virginia tidal waters. Temporal and spatial considerations based on presence of eggs. Source Tresselt (1952) Massmann et al. (1952) Rinaldo (1971) Merriner et al. (1980) Grant and Olney (1981) lliver Systems Pamunkey Mattaponi James Chickahominy Rappahannock Rappahannock Pamunkey James Pamunkey Mattaponi Spawning Dates 6 - 13 April 1950 25 - 30 April 1950 9 - 10 Ma}' 1950 5 - 6 May 1950 17 - 20 May 1950 Spawning Locations (River miles from mouth) Station D Station D-B Station B-H Station B-E Station D-H 23 - 27 May 1951 Mallory's Point-Leesville 13 April - 10 May 1966 P35 - P60 J25 - J31 .16 April - 16 May 1980 18 April - 9 May 1980 P31 - P52 M31 - M43 .·, .. ·.:,Grant:, and,·,•olney\1,I"-.~1.c;.;1'":°';;s1;,..,.:,;,.,,,.,:, James .. , · .. ,. ,,,,:,,.:~' ·~1,·,22x.,Ap.Ji;i.l., ,''k lt. Ma.X···.l?~l,'"i. ,I,f'-,,,.J,J4Q.,;,~, .. J.&~<',·f.·~l"' ,,.,,,, .. ,,., .. (study in progress) Chkkahom:i.ny 2l Apr.H ·• 6 M.ay 1981 CO - C04 ;it ~-1 I Talle 2 Striped Bass landings in selected sfriped bass spawning areas, 1977-1981. :::,.( I upper Rappahannock River (377) Mattaponi River (049) Pamunkey River (067) upper James River (337) Chickahominy River (013) ., YEM/ 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 MARCH lbs.- $ 54,603 10,411 18,571 .1::-5,980 3,727 52 43 183 243 852 32,761 8Jl881 22,514 5,990 6,215 31 54 110 304 1,065 ,J;: ii APRIL 11 lbs $ t: . :1101,642 42,727 f, ,t:;: 30, 172 18, 103 ,t 32 443 35 648 $',' ' , 1: 15,054 14,928 l 14,206 21,310 1/' ·~ ,f ,1: 'f,',' :t i '~...; .:,·· ';.;1 Z'' i i}• ~; .' I -~? · . .-f ·,.i J ~i; ~{ ._, t :f'i ~ lbs. $ 7,398 3,325 2,442 2,380 1,744 2,039 4,630 4,545 1,193 1,491 ~ lbs. $ 348 201 395 495 232 186 495 458 2,220 2,331 .. •· Table 3. Number of nets fished during the spring fishery by river and river mile. Stake Anchor Drift Pound Net Fyke Net Gill Net Gill Net Gill Net James River miles 35-70 35-55 35-55 35-70 . 45-60 number of nets 0 18 14 0 270-300 Chickahominy River miles 0-19 0-19 0-19 0-19 0-5 number of nets 0 0 0 0 6 Pamunkey River miles 30-60 45-55 . 40-42 30-60 30-60 number of nets 0 3 1 0 147 Mattaponi River miles 30-55 30-55 30-55 30-55 30-50 number of nets 0 0 0 0 111 ':Zapp ,ihannock River miles 40-65 40--70 <'.,0·· 70 40-60 l.;0···10 number of nets 15 0 18 8 0 Upper Rappahannock River (377) ~ 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 Table 4. ~ AlevivH Catfiab Shad Whit• Perch Aleviveo eactuh Sud Alnivea Catfbh Shad White Perch Aleviva1 Catfl.ah Shad White Perch Al..,ivea Catfbh Shad White Perch ~~ i !, I I !I: ~. Landings of selected specieslin Striped Bass spawning areas, 1977-1981. I ·:i~ ' '-~: ~ • ~. ~ 1 ~ YI' 1 ~ .!!! 1 !!'!&!!!!. ·;;,5 12,404 869 Ali"'1h<>~ 101.120 3,S20 Al-iVH 10,854 326 Catfiab 25,921 4,145 Catfi$h so.t21 9,715 CatU.ab S7,034 9,893 Shall 18,859 10,402 Shad 16~5 S,872 Shad 1,539 216 Vbit• hRb 36,596 6,221 Whit;; hn:.::I: 15flJ2 2,631 White Puch 3,011 462 .~ 2.92 26 Catfi,01; 2J55 635 Alevivea 55,949 2,238 Catfiah 164 2S Sh&d 12,:r1 2,285 Catfiah 56,156 8,424 White Perch 6,320 1,801 White 1''1t'Ch ~48 11 White Perc:h 4,018 803 ·lf 2,772 202 Ale;.,iv1a<G S0,:J76 2,803 Alevive1 51,108 2,295 Alnivu 3,163 626 Catfhh 10.)68 12,326 Catfiah 15,990 2,718 C.Cfiah 5,697 2,039 S!wi 3,860 1,273 White Perch 1,788 S44 Whit• Pncb 15,149 2,758 Wbit6 l'QS:Ch ,.~ 2,345 :ff 669 67 Al..,.h'llil'I SOJ91 2,925 Alewivea 46,574 2,329 Catfiah 3,905 781 Catfi>lh 20 't101 s,oss Cat fl.ab 72,254 16,819 White Pucb 501 193 Shaw 3589 933 Shad 696 147 5,411 1,879 Whita Parch 9f88 2,754 White Perch 2,348 704 ::-~, 2,57S 388 Ale,,,i:,.,~ 14-;341 861 Catfilh 26,981 6,746 c.tflab 10,004 2,sos c,.cfil>h 40;)39 11,347 Shad 107 41 llblte Pucb 67.1 239 Shaul l'•U!S 637 White Petell 87S 306 8,291 3,458 Whit .. hrcn · •'159 2,057 s\; i -~ :~~ 2& & '):; ~.';! ·,i, _;.::, ir. :s;. -~~-,,:r,: :,t I l~ -~\. i~ ,;!;' ~ .. .,_.,. (':\ 1f:. • ·, \ :l!!!!! !!!! 1 S6,4SS 1,634 3 l 2,156 401 33,410 ,.100 174 45 150 I 41,986 1,667 170 43 74,473 11,193 331 100 1,975 474 3,212 1.149 ~ ~ 1977 Catfish l1attaponi River Shad (049) 1978 1979 Shad Wblta Perch 1980 1981 ~ ~ 2,459 119,138 2,832 46 1 559 52,149 633 11 C Table 4. ~ Cat ti"h Shad Shad Contirwed. Ii-; i? l APlIL m:-'.s 5;t6S! 224t000 },f ) .J~ 3.800 ?{ ·"' 4 ,ii_: "(( 1 1,313 67,307 798 SPECIES Catfiah Shad ~ !:ll 6,927 7,000 1 1,593 -SPEC1.ES JUNE LBS "' 1 ~ SPECIES 1977 catfuh p-,nkey Rive~ Shad (067) 1978 1979 C&tft.b .shad 1980 1981 Catf11h ~ MARCK UIS 4,804 103,586 6,300 40,866 9,137 1 l,096 4S,352 l,S7S 8,260 2,28S Table 4. f; ,, J, I Contirued. -ff, l1 ;t APR5'= LBS'f 1 SPECIES Catfisn Sha.cl S,469 194,$!0 1,313 S8;462 eacU.ab Shad Shad Catfbh ;,:-~, . . {jf ~ 6,4}9 16,0QO .}; l,~ 'i' \,.~ ·it I' {~ ·'I! "' ' i-0 "" 1,926 4,000 33S 7,9Sl ~ Catfbh Shad ~ ~ 6,927 7,000 1 l,S93 984 SPECIES :!!!!!! !:!! 1 "' .. • ,, j: ef..: {. ~ ,,. ",j) Table 4. Continued. )~}. W..'lCH ) AftlL KAY JUKE ~ ~ uis 1 ~ i~ 1 ~ !:!§. 1 !!!ml LBS 1 1977 C&tflah 54,818 ll,025 Catfuh Q7,393 32,974 C.tflah 149,060 34,183 catflala 105,815 24,353 Upper :-~ )~, J-• River 1978 (337) 1979 C&tflah 11,754 2,938 Al...,lvH ~i ,759 53 Alwlvaa 39,900 1,995 eattu1a 57.451 14.362 Shad 16,665 3,294 Catibh .:,zt_39s 6,419 Catfilh 19,416 5,825 White Parch 2U 42 Shad ~2,589 544 Cetf11b 95,547 21,714 catfbla 75,452 17,381 1980 ~ 1981 Catfilh 15,229 3,808 Catfl.:.h :16,974 19.244 C&tfllb 30,813 7,704 C.Cflala 30,182 ,.~ Shad 2,000 800 ~i. MARCH ~ SPECIES ~ 1 1977 Cbickah0111iny River (013) 1978 Catfl.ab Z,890 66S 1979 c.tfi•h 3,783 946 l.9&0 C&tfiab 2,614 S7S 1961 Catfiab 6,092 1,S23 ~{ ~ ~ Table 4. Qontinued. ~ ·, ~ SPECL\':S • 1 Catfi.,.n 1,291 2,470 "" ' 1?/ Catfish ~6S7 3,203 Jf' C&tfl.Sli! l-'140 642 :a C&tfi;il lf6U. 2,SS4 Al~1d .. VG$ 96.9.50 14,S43 Cacfi&h .• 16~454 4,113 t l; ~, .~: ~· \t-1 . }. SPECIES !!!!. JUNE !:!!§. 1 . SPECIES LBS 1 Catfbb 16,103 3,704 Catfiab 40,449 9,304 catflall 16,323 3,75't Catfiah 9,704 2,911 Catfbll · 14,567 3,641 Catfiab LJ,739 3,25't Catfiall 8,755 2,L89 ,• ' \ . '~ . ~~el, Percentages by Water Body of 1980 Striped Bass landings in Virginia. Potomac River and Tributaries 71.89% Upper Rappahannock River Central Rappahannock River 3.40% Upper Western Chesapeake Bay 0.34't Upper Eastern Chesapeake Bay 2.36% Lower Eastern Chesapeake Bay o. 74"/. Atlantic Ocean 4.817. • LITERATURE C !TED Grant, George, C. and John E. Olney. 1981. Assessment of larval striped bass Morone saxatilis (Walbaum), stocks in Maryland and Virginia waters. Part II. Assessment of spawning activity in major Virginia rivers. Final Report to the National Marine Fisheries Service, Grant No. NA80FAD-VA1B, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Pt., VA, 39 pp. Massmann, W.H., E.C. Ladd and H.N. Mccutcheon. 1952. A biological survey of The Rappahannock River, Virginia. Part 1. Virginia Fisheries Lab, Gloucester Point, VA. 112 pp. (Mimeo}. Merriner, J.V., A.D. Estes, and R.K. Dias. 1980. Ichthyoplankton Entraimnent Studies at Vepco Nuclear Power Station. Final Technical Report 1975-1978. Va. Inst. Mar. Sci., Gloucester Pt., VA. Sections Ila and IIb. 602 p • . , .,,,,,,,.. &inaldo,,-,Jl,.G"1!:·t 1971., .... A]Ullysia .. of. Morone,.saxatilis and Morone, americanus spawning . r1nd 111.l't"sery !'!.rea 1.n the York-PBmunkey Ri.ver, V:Legi.nla. MA. Thesis:, College of William and Mary, Wil lia.msburg, VA. 56 p. Setzler, E.M., W.R. Boynton, K.V. Wood, R.H. Zion, L. Lubbers, N.K. Mountford, P. Frere, L. Tucker and J.A. Mihursky. 1980. Synopsis of biological data on striped bass, Morone saxatilis (Walbaum}. NOAA Tech. Rept. NMFS Circ. 433, 68 pp. Tresselt, E.F. 1952. Spawning grounds of the striped bass or rock, Roccus saxatilis (Walbaum}, in Virginia. Bull. Bing. Oceanog. Coll. 14(1} :98-110. 

Striped Bass, Morone saxatilis, spawning season and grounds in Virginia River with notes on concomitant fisheries

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Striped Bass, Morone saxatilis, spawning season and grounds in Virginia River with notes on concomitant fisheries

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