In the marine environment, every species is a support for the entire ecosystem. We might be able to overfish one species without causing a dramatic change in others. However, once we begin to decimate the food stocks for species like striped bass or bluefish, we cannot help having a serious negative effect on that species' total population. Some species are more adaptable and can find alternative forage sources to augment their diet. Striped bass and bluefish, as juveniles, feed on similar prey.
Striped bass are opportunistic feeders.
Over the years, through personal experience, I have seen striped bass feeding on sand eels, American eels, winter flounder, and summer flounder. They will eat almost anything that swims in the ocean, bays and rivers. They eat their prey whole because they do not have cutting teeth. When we impact their basic diet, we may not see a dramatic decrease in striped bass population because they adapt by eating something else and have a more varied diet to choose from. Bluefish, however, have very different feeding habits as adult fish.