USE OF ATLANTIC TOMCOD AND OTHER PREY BY STRIPED BASS IN THE LOWER HUDSON RIVER ESTUARY DURING WINTER

Striped bass Morone saxatilis and Atlantic tomcod Microgadus tomcod ar e common in the lower Hudson River estuary during winter. However, the re is no information on the consumption of Atlantic tomcod or other pr ey by striped bass at that time in the lower Hudson River estuary. Str iped bass are known to feed on Atlantic tomcod in the Hudson River dur ing seasons other than winter. From 1986 through 1994, the stomach con tents of 1,580 striped bass caught in the lower Hudson River estuary a t water temperatures below 10 degrees C were examined to determine the presence of fish and invertebrates. Of those, 47% contained food. No Atlantic tomcod were found in any of the striped bass stomachs despite the fact that 74% of the catches from the 5,826 rows we examined cont ained both Atlantic tomcod and striped bass and that the Atlantic tomc od appeared to be a suitable-size prey for the striped bass. The propo rtion of stomachs having invertebrates declined with increasing length of striped bass and the proportion of stomachs having fish increased with length of striped bass. During the winter 1991-1992, when stomach contents were classified to the lowest taxonomic level, striped bass fed primarily on amphipods, Crangon spp., and juvenile alosids.