Young stripers tend to move downstream to areas of higher salinity. Some less than 2 years old migrate along the Atlantic Coast, but many do not migrate until age 3, and most remain in the river system in which they were spawned. Estuaries are critically important to the life cycle of striped bass, which use them as spawning grounds and nurseries. Mature stripers are found in and around a variety of inshore habitats as well, including areas off sandy beaches and along rocky shorelines, in shallow water or deep trenches, and in rivers and the open Bay. Any significant alterations of these habitats has the potential to disrupt the life cycle of the striped bass.
Adults are piscivorous, or fish-eaters.
The reasons for the sharp decline in the striped bass harvest during the 1970s and 1980s are complex. Scientists determined that overfishing caused the striped bass population to become more susceptible to natural stresses and pollution. In particular, fluctuations in water temperature in spawning grounds cause significant natural stress. But this is not the only stressor. Acidity and contaminants in spawning habitats may have influenced the mortality of striped bass larvae in the Choptank, Nanticoke and Potomac rivers.