The Atlantic fish north of Cape Hatteras are seasonally migratory and the stock is considered separate from that south of the Cape. In Chesapeake Bay, adults migrate offshore and south to overwinter along the 100-meter depth contour off the Virginia and Maryland coast. Adult black sea bass are considered a temperate reef fish, and are most often found on rocky bottoms near pilings, wrecks and jetties. The fish, age two to five, produce approximately 280,000 pelagic eggs, which are buoyant and contain a single oil globule. Young black sea bass feed primarily on crustaceans, such as shrimp, amphipods and isopods.
Large fish are more common offshore than in the bay.
The black sea bass forms the base of an important recreational fishery. An estimated 1.5 million black sea bass were taken by anglers in the lower bay in 1991. Anglers bottom fish using squid and other natural baits to catch this highly esteemed and flavorful fish. Gear types include trawls, pots, hook and line. A Chesapeake Bay Program Fisheries Management Plan was developed in 1993 to manage the overfished sea bass.