Striped bass

Morone saxatilis

A large predatory fish of Atlantic North America, moving between rivers and coasts and marked by dark stripes on silver sides.

Key facts

Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) is a carnivore animal classified as Fish · Perciformes · Moronidae.
Primary habitats are coast · freshwater, with a range across Atlantic Ocean · Nearctic.
Activity is cathemeral, sociality is herd, and conservation status is LC (Least Concern).
A large predatory fish of Atlantic North America, moving between rivers and coasts and marked by dark stripes on silver sides.
Ranges from the Gulf of St.

Habitat range map

Native rangeOccasional / Transient

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Ranges from the Gulf of St. Lawrence down the U.S. Atlantic coast in estuaries, bays, coasts, and rivers, with many sea-run populations.

The body is silver-white with several dark horizontal stripes. The mouth is large, and the tail is strongly forked.

Schools pursue small fish and move with tides, river flow, and seasonal spawning migrations.

It eats herring, menhaden, squid, and crustaceans, sometimes herding baitfish in groups.

Adults spawn in freshwater or brackish rivers in spring. Eggs drift with current as they develop.

Striped bass recovered in some regions after overfishing, but harvest rules and spawning-river water quality remain important.