Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 9
Special Significance of the Species
The striped bass has an undeniable appeal for commercial and sport fishers because of its delicate, white meat. It was fished by First Nations, and later by the first European settlers, and its bones have been identified on the Lanoraie archaeological site, west of Lake Saint-Pierre, which was occupied by First Nations in the 14th century, and on the nearby site of Champlain’s settlement at Quebec City, which dates back to the 17th century (Trépanier and Robitaille 1995). The first settlers along the Saint John and Kouchibouguac rivers also engaged in a subsistence bass fishery (Dadswell 1976; Hogans and Melvin 1984).
Reported commercial landings of striped bass in Canadian waters have never exceeded several tens of tonnes (LeBlanc and Chaput 1991) and are small by comparison with those recorded in the United States, which totalled over 6,000 t in 1973 (Melvin 1991). Most commercial landings in Canada come from the southern Gulf and are taken as bycatch in the gaspereau (Alosa pseudoharengus) or rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) fisheries (LeBlanc and Chaput 1991). However, fisheries directed specifically at striped bass have occurred at several locations in the past.
In the Bay of Fundy, the striped bass commercial fishery had a number of good years, from 1885 to 1888 and again from 1959 to 1970, particularly in Belleisle Bay on the Saint John River. Catches at this site then declined and the fishery had to be closed in 1978 (Dadswell 1983; Hooper 1991).
In the St. Lawrence estuary, commercial catches of striped bass were made primarily in the fall (Montpetit 1897). Although catches never reached levels comparable to those of the American eel (Anguilla rostrata), the principal commercial species in this part of the river, they were sufficiently profitable that fishers from certain communities on the south shore directed specifically for the species. Commercial striped bass catches in the estuary reached a maximum of 53 t in 1943. Lake Saint-Pierre, an enlargement of the river upstream of the tidal zone, appears to have long been a winter striped bass fishing ground (Montpetit 1897). After the ice break up, fishing activity intensified in the lake. A period of intense bass fishing, called the “coup du bar”, would take place in late April and early May (Cuerrier 1962). The winter bass fishery in the St. Lawrence was closed in 1951, but a number of fishers continued to fish it illegally.
Striped bass is highly prized by anglers, with the level of interest in angling for striped bass varying from region to region.
In the Maritimes, angling for bass is carried out in the estuaries and rivers it enters, but less intensively than in the United States because the bass caught are generally smaller. Nonetheless, the number of anglers has increased over the years. In the southern Gulf, angling was carried out along the entire length of the coast, but was concentrated primarily in the estuaries of the Richibucto, Kouchibouguac, Miramichi, Tabusintac and Nepisiguit rivers, in June, August and September (Hooper 1991).
In the Bay of Fundy, sport catches are concentrated within a specific period and to a limited number of sites. On the Annapolis River, bass was fished primarily at the base of the Royal Annapolis dam from mid-June to early October. In contrast, catches on the Shubenacadie River are distributed over a longer section of the river accessible to bass, but over a shorter time period, i.e., from April to June. Sport fishing on the Saint John River lasts all summer but is concentrated at Reversing Falls (Jessop and Vithayasai 1979). At this site, catches consist primarily of migrants from U.S. rivers, which are larger than local bass.
In the St. Lawrence Estuary, the best angling sites are between Batture au Loup-Marin, off L’Islet, and Cap Tourmente (Montpetit 1897). In the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, the striped bass was subject to an intense seasonal sport fishery in several communities along the estuary. Large numbers of anglers took part in the fishing tournaments that were held annually in August and September in Montmagny, Rivière-Ouelle, Château-Richer and Île d’Orléans.
Apart from its interest as a long-standing fisheries species, striped bass is an important component of the biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems. The species is typically associated with estuaries and coastal waters, where it is one of the most important piscivorous species. An abundant striped bass population is an indicator that a river and its estuary are in good condition: the species requires high quality spawning and nursery habitat and abundant aquatic species for food.
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