I started doing some research on striped bass tagging in the Delaware River. I am in no way in the know about these programs. What I do know is I have seen electroshocking and tagging done in the Delaware River. The USF&WS does it from the Delaware Bay up as well at the PA FWS. New Jersey does seine netting in several parts of the river looking for YOY striped bass. The last year reported was 2019, where 958 YOY were netted. I also know there are tagging programs
up and down the East Coast as part of the Coastwide Cooperative Striped Bass Tagging Program run by the USF&WS. Other tagging programs are Berkley, Littoral Society and Gray's Fish Tag.
I reached out to Josh Newhard from the USF&WS to see if he knew of or was interested in starting a recreational tagging program in the Delaware River. Now, it wouldn't be as scientific as what they do, but wouldn't it be good to stick as many tags in fish to increase the data returns? I got a
reply shortly after I sent it and you can his response below. If you click on it it gets bigger.
In 2011 I tagged my first striped bass on the beach in Deal. It's appears to have been a hybrid striped bass based on the fact that the lateral lines are discontinuous. While I have no interest in tagging ocean fish, I thought I could help out with the Delaware River, which is understudied and underreported. While snooping around I came upon an article written in 2010 by Heather Corbett who is, or was, a fisheries biologist here in NJ. You can read that HERE.
San Fransisco Bay and Delta
What jumped out at me was that there was a Navesink River striped bass stocking program that existed from 1989-2000, way before my striped bass time. These bass "were the progeny (descendent of) of a non-migratory stock of striped bass from North Carolina". This wasn't the first time that Navesink River striped bass were involved in stocking. In the year 1879 132 young striped bass were taken by rail to the West Coast and stocked into the San Fransisco Bay estuary. That was followed by 300 Shrewsbury River bass in 1882. But back to the Navesink.
I'll preface that my knowledge, and success, on the Navesink is limited. If I had a Navesink question it would go to Captain Paul Eidman who has told me for years about that fishery, and each time I snub my nose. Little did I know. But back to the Navesink. But first, and this all depends on who you talk to. Ask "Where do striped bass spawn?" and you'll get the big three, then the next tier, and then a long list of smaller rivers. New Jersey folks are split on this. Some say striped bass spawn in the Mullica River, and up here in Monmouth County the Navesink and Raritan Rivers, that's up for debate. I really don't know. Most of the people I talk to say the Navesink and Shrewsbury fish are Husdon drop down and in fish, with a mix of other strains mixed in. Wouldn't it be easier if each strain was a different color?
Albemarle Sound and the Roanoke River (left bottom )
Irregardles of where they come from, they are there, it's no secret, I'm not spot burning. Hell, striped bass are pretty much in every and all types of water in and around New Jersey. But back to the Navesink, again. The fish stocked in the Navesink came from a North Carolina non-migratory strain. I am assuming that menas they came from the Albemarle Sound and or the Roanake River which is a tributary of the Sound. Those fish don't migrate, at least not to New England where the other strains go. And why this is interesting is because, if a fish is stocked, and it's genes don't tell it to migrate, do those Navesink River "stockies" stay put or close all year round?
And this is very interesting also. When fish are tagged the information of where they are caught is recorded, and then that is compared to where the fish is recaught. So you're 20 inch Deal, NJ bass you tagged is caught two years later in Montauk NY and is 24 inches. But what sciencetists found was that the returns on the Navesink River bass were mostly caught in and around New Jersey, where other tagged fish were recaught up and down the East Coast. Mmmmm.
So there's the Navesink and Shrewsbury fish in California and the North Carolina strain fish in the Navesink. Interesting. But this all started with me trying to get some information on getting a Delaware River tagging program going for recreational fisherman. I have a few river snipers that are ready and willing. The studies and information about the Delaware River striped bass is lacking and needing of a resurgence in interest. Things are getting much better in regards to the health of the river, it would be nice to see hard data showing how the bass are doing.
More on Gray's FishGag Research and the striped bass tagging program to follow.