Fecundity estimates for Maryland Striped Bass

Contemporary striped bass population modeling efforts on coastal stocks point to a reduced population fecundity in Chesapeake Bay being partially responsible for declining reproduction (Anonymous 1985; Boreman and Goodyear 1984). Fecundity values used in these models were based on earlier work by jackson and tiller (1952), lewis and Bonner (1966), Hollis (1967) and Holland and Yelverton (1973). An important feature to the Boreman and Goodyear (1985) model (FSIM) is an accurate determination of the fecundity weight regression equation used to determine the rate of egg deposition over time. Egg deposition models in turn can be used to determine how reproductive potential is changing over time in response to various management actions, i.e. reducing fishing mortality rates. thus it is imperative to follow population stock structure in the Bay system and to develop a contemporary fecundity relationship for striped bass. This report deals with the gonadal material collected in 1986 and 1987 from a coordinated Maryland field program. Samples were obtained from drift gill net collections during the spawning season from four localities: Potomac Estuary, Upper Bay, Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, and the Choptank Estuary (Figure 1).