Striped Bass
Family:
Percicthyidae
Species: Morone Saxatilis
The striped bass, or "striper," one of the most avidly pursued of
all coastal sport fish, is native to most of the East Coast, ranging
from the lower St. Lawrence River in Canada to Northern Florida, and
along portions of the Gulf of Mexico. In 1670, Plymouth Colony
established a free school with income from coastal striped bass
fisheries. Thus, one of the first public schools in America was
supported by this highly valued resource. The unique angling
qualities of this trophy species and its adaptability to fresh water
environments have led to a major North American range expansion
within the last 100 years. A valuable fishery has been created on
the West Coast and inland fisheries have been developed in 31 states
by stocking the striped bass into lakes and reservoirs.
Several characteristics
distinguished the striper from other fish found in coastal
Connecticut waters. The striped bass has a large mouth, with jaws
extending backward to below the eye. It has two prominent spines on
the gill covers. The first (most anterior) of its two well-developed
and separated dorsal fins possesses a series of sharp, stiffened
spines. The anal fin, with its three sharp spines, is about as long
as the posterior dorsal fin. The striper's upper body is bluish to
dark olive, and its sides and belly are silvery. Seven or eight
narrow stripes extending lengthwise from the back of the head to the
base of the tail form the most easily recognized characteristic of
this species.
Striped bass can live up to 40 years
and can reach weights greater than 100 pounds, although individuals
larger than 50 pounds are rare. The all-tackle angling record fish,
taken in New Jersey in 1982, weighed 78 ½ pounds and measured 53
inches long. The Connecticut State record is 75 pounds and 6 ounces
taking in New Haven Harbor in 1992.
Females reach significantly greater sizes
than do males; most stripers over 30 pounds are female. Thus, the
term "bulls," originally coined to describe extremely large
individuals, has been more accurately changed to "cows" in recent
times.
The number of eggs produced by a female
striped bass is directly related to the size of its body; a
12-pound female may produce about 850,000 eggs, and a 55-pound
female about 4,200,000 eggs. Although males reach sexual maturity
at two or three years of age, no females mature before the age of
four, and some not until the age of six. The size of the females
at sexual maturity has been used as a criterion for establishing
minimum legal size limit regulations in recent years.
Bluefish
Family: Pomatomidae
Species: Saltatrix
The bluefish, a trophy species hotly
pursued by anglers due to it's reputation as a champion battler and
voracious predator, is native to both the American and
European-African coasts of the Atlantic Ocean. Along the western
Atlantic it is abundant from Argentina to Cape Cod, and it
occasionally occurs as far north as Nova Scotia.
Bluefish is something of a misnomer,
as this species is most commonly a sea-green color above, fading
into a silvery shade on its lower sides and belly. The adult
bluefish has a stout body and large mouth that extends posteriorly
below and beyond the eye. The lower jaw juts out noticeably. Both
the upper and lower jaws are fully armed with large conically shaped
canine teeth. The dorsal fin is divided into two sections. The first
section, about half as long and high as the second, has a series of
stiff spines supporting the soft tissues of the fin. The second or
posterior dorsal fin is equal in length to the anal fin.
Bluefish rarely exceed 20 lbs. and 40 inches in length. The North
American record bluefish, caught in North Carolina, weighed 31 lbs
12 ounces. The Connecticut State record fish, landed at Norwalk
Islands in 1979, weighed 24 pounds 13 ounces. The larger fish caught
during a given year generally run between 10-15 pounds.
Both male and female bluefish
reach sexual maturity by the time they are 2 years old. The
fecundity (number of eggs produced) of females is related to their
size, with 21-inch female producing about 900,000 eggs and a 23-inch
female about 1,100,00 eggs per year.
Fluke
Family: Flounder
Species: Paralichthys dentatus
Generally they are white below and darker above, but they can turn
various shades of gray, blue, green-orange, and almost black. The
upper part of the fluke's body is marked with scattered spots that
are darker than the general body color.
The angling record for summer
flounder in Connecticut is 14 pounds
in 1989. Although the largest fluke may weigh up to 26 pounds, the
average adult weighs 2 to 5 pounds and measures 17 to 25 inches
long.
A 15 to 16-inch fish, which is only 2 to 3 years old, weighs about 1
to 1 1/4 pounds. A 20-inch fish is about 3 to 3 ½ pounds, a 30-inch
fish would be 10 pounds, and a 37-inch fish would be approximately
20 pounds. Females may live up to 20 years and weigh more than 20
pounds, while males rarely exceed 7 years of age and 3 to 5 pounds
in weight.
Both males and females become
sexually mature at the age of 3. The fecundity (number of eggs
produced in a single spawning season) of females increases with size
and weight. A 14-inch female produces about 460,000 and a 27-inch
female about 4,200,000, eggs in a season.
Porgy
Family:
Sparidae
Species: S. chrysops
The scup, or "porgy," known for its fine flavor and its avaricious
pursuit of baited hooks, arrive in Connecticut Sound in mid June. It
is most common from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and
is encountered only occasionally north of Cape Ann
The scup's laterally flattened body
is about two times as long as it is wide. The head, concave
dorsally, has a small mouth and high-set eyes. The scup has one
long, continuous dorsal fin, which possesses a series of one short
and eleven long spines anteriorly. The anal fin also contains one
short spine followed by several long ones. The tail is deeply
concave and sharply pointed on the corners. The pelvic fins are
located directly below the pectoral fins.
The scup's body is a dull silvery
color flecked with light blue and displaying 12 to 15 inconspicuous
horizontal stripes. The head is marked with dark patches, and the
belly is white.
The Connecticut State record for
scup is 3 pounds 14 ounces in 1992, but few adults exceed 2 pounds
in width and 14 inches in length. Both males and females reach
sexual maturity in their second year. Scup can live up to 14 years
of age, but most schools of scup contain no fish older than 3 to 4
years.
False Albacore Tuna
Family:
Scombridae
Species: T. alalunga
False Albacore Tuna enter the
Long Island
Sound in mid September and are in catchable numbers for
approximately 4 weeks. A prized game fish known for it's excellent
fighting abilities the False Albacore Tuna is not the most
desirable food source because of it's oily characteristics.
The pectoral fins of the False Albacore are very long, as much as
30% of the total length. The dorsal spines are 11-14 in number,
and well forward of the rays of the dorsal fin. The anterior
spines are much longer, giving a concave outline to the spiny part
of the dorsal fin. Lengths range up to 140 cm and weights up to
60.3 kg. The Connecticut State record for False Albacore Tuna is
14 pounds 12 ounces caught in Niantic, CT in 2000.
False Albacore swim in schools,
and may form mixed schools with skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis),
yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) and southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus
maccoyii). They are predators, feeding on smaller fishes,
crustaceans, and squids, and are in turn eaten by marlins and
wahoos.
This species may also be
called albacore fish, false albacore tuna, bastard albacore,
bonito (but see bonito), longfin tuna, longfin tunny, or even just
tuna.