Understanding recruitment dynamics
Access Indices of Abundance
- Juvenile Fish and Blue Crab Trawl Survey: Striped Bass
- Juvenile Striped Bass Survey
| Project Title: Estimation of Juvenile Striped Bass Relative Abundance in the VA Portion of Chesapeake Bay |
| Principal Investigators Dr. Mary C. Fabrizio Mr. Leonard Machut |
| Project period: 6/8/2009 - 3/31/2010 |
| Funding Agencies: US Fish & Wildlife Service, Virginia Marine Resources Commission |
The VIMS Seine Survey monitors juvenile fish abundance for many species, including Atlantic menhaden. The annual survey, initiated in 1967, has operated continuously since 1980 and continues through the present. Sampling is conducted biweekly from early July through mid-September at fixed stations on the James, York (including Pamunkey and Mattaponi), and Rappahannock river systems. A 100 ft. long, 4 ft. deep, 1/4 in. bar-mesh minnow seine is used to capture fish for identification and measurement. An index of abundance for juvenile Atlantic menhaden is calculated using data from 16 stations for all months of the survey. This index shows an apparent decline in juvenile menhaden numbers since the 1980s.