striped bass age versus egg viability

[Pete_G]

This was discussed briefly on another board (nothing really came of it) and some of the ideas were popping up in the OTW Striper Cup thread as well. Didn't want to hijack that, so I started this.

When do a striper's eggs actually become less viable? I googled the Internet literally for hours to try and find some answers to this and I found nothing useful.

Are a 40 pounder's eggs less viable? And who's to say this is an old fish? At 40 pounds, that fish may have conservatively another 20 pounds of growth in it's life. My only hang up with the old eggs theory is I often see it mentioned by commercials and charter captains, so immediately I get suspicious and would love to have some real data on the matter. That and I'm just not convinced a striper is "old" if at 40 it is only at 2/3 of it's potential body weight.

Show me some data! Prove to me that the idea that a 40 pound striper is "old" and past it's prime breeding age isn't just the way we're programmed to think about stripers.

Discuss...

[spence]

I remember Frank D. writing about this, although I'm sure there's no scientific backing.

Given that that according to studies the serious egg production ramps up at 8-12 years, I'd wager that the impact of the kept 40 pounder and up is small given the relative numbers of those sized fish.

But she still could be a breeder, who knows

-spence

[tattoobob]

Pete I am going to ask the Biologist at the Mass Marine fisheries, and I will post his answer as soon as he emails me back.

[Striperhound]

Here is a thought starter. If a 40 pounders eggs are less viable does that 40 lb fish have better genetics therefore fewer eggs reach adulthood but have a better chance at being the next cow????

[MakoMike]

I'm sure if you dig through the scientific papers from the ASMFC and the American Fisheries society you can find that data you're looking for. IIRC fecundity starts to drop off at around the 45 pound mark.

[beamie]

I asked a similar question a lond time ago and Bassbabe who is employed somehow in the biology field gave this response, no numbers but it is info.

Quote:
Originally Posted by beamie
Does anyone know what the best breading fish is? i.e. When people get bent out of shape when 50+ pounders are taken do those big old fish still produce or not. Are they like humans where after a certain age it just doesn't work anymore?


It all boils down to reproductive potential and fecundity. Fecundity is the number of eggs a female fish produces. The larger the fish, the more resources it can allocate toward egg production. Therefore, the largest fish lay the most eggs -- and they don't go thru the 'pause. But although a 50 lb-er may lay more eggs in one whack, it has lower reproductive potential, as it is not expected to live for a heck of alot longer. Reproductive potential is the potential number of offspring a fish can produce in its remaining lifetime. So...a younger, smaller fish has greater reproductive potential, assuming it will live for many more years, grow, and make more babies each year. So don't feel guilty taking the monster fish...think twice about keeping the 28 inchers, because they're the ones with many years of breeding and tons of striper babies in their future.

[Pete F.]

I digress slightly but size is largely a factor of genetics. Ya got your big dogs and your small dogs, whitetails with big racks and small racks, guys with big...
Ya I was gonna say heads
I think once you find the information about fecundity you could graph it and figure out which size bass has the least impact if you keep it, but I just keep a few to eat. I fish mostly in Maine so they are around 2 feet thats the slot limit.

[MakoMike]

The other thing some of you guys are forgetting is the other half. That big old cow, or young going-to-be cow only carries half the genes of the next generation. And since spawing is random with males and males rarely grow bigger than 36-40 INCHES, how are you going to figure how to protect the futures cows' fathers?

[jkswimmer]

I think genetics plays a large roll in ultimate potential this has been seen in trout habitats. If only the largest trout are taken out of a particular stream the result will be a stunted population. this the resson hatterary trout do not grow large, no survival of the fittest. Another way to look at it is why don't all people grow to six feet tall and three hunred pounds.
Something else I read at one time was that striped bass do not age as we know it. They can live almost indefinitely and were being studied for this.

[Pete_G]

Originally Posted by jkswimmer

I think genetics plays a large roll in ultimate potential this has been seen in trout habitats. If only the largest trout are taken out of a particular stream the result will be a stunted population. this the resson hatterary trout do not grow large, no survival of the fittest. Another way to look at it is why don't all people grow to six feet tall and three hunred pounds.
Something else I read at one time was that striped bass do not age as we know it. They can live almost indefinitely and were being studied for this.

I've often eyed striper populations from the same view. I grew up fishing for largemouths and trout so right or wrong, I view our effect on them from a freshwater perspective, i.e. if you remove the big ones you get a stunted population.

Also, I really want info on what an "old" striper actually is. Fish aren't mammals and sometimes I think we view the way they age in that way. Do fish when they get old have heart attacks? Develop cancer? Besides predators and us, what kills bigger stripers?

I wish I stuck with marine biology instead of switching majors sometimes...