Canada Striped Bass Fishing
Stripers in Prince Edward Island - New Brunswick and Novia Scotia
Recreational angling is permitted year round in the tidal waters of the Bay of Fundy and along the Atlantic Coast of Nova Scotia. For inland waters, angling is permitted during set summer months, except for those waters draining into the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Northumberland Strait where angling for striped bass is not permitted.
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/act-loi/fishing-peche-eng.htm
If you do accidentally catch a fish you know to be protected under SARA, return it to the water.
What this means is that the fishery is closed in all waters (rivers) that empty in the Gulf of St Lawrence (including Northumberland Strait ). The Gulf salt waters are indeed closed too.In New Brunswick, striped bass fishing is only open in the rivers emptying in the Bay of Fundy, or in the Bay of Fundy itself.
Frédéric Butruille
Communications Advisor, Corporate Services
Conseiller en communications, services corporatifs
Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pêches et Océans Canada
Gulf Region | Région du Golfe
Government of Canada | Gouvernement du Canada
Email | Courriel : [email protected]
Phone | Téléphone : 506-851-7218
Fax | Télécopieur : 506-851-2435
http://www.glf.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
The Canadian record striped
bass was caught in Nova Scotia by Gordon Strong - Mira River,
Cape Breton Co. 1994. The fish weighted 54.06 lb.
That record stood up until September of 2008 when it when it was eclipsed by a 16 year old Christian Lavatte. Christian caught the fish from the surf on 20 pound test with a magnum rapala, in Bras D'or lakes in Cape Breton Island, It was 49 inches long with a girth of 33 inches weighing 57.9 pounds. Its has been registered here in Canada but international Game and Sport fishing Assocoiation in Florida wasn't able to certify the fish in their records because it wasnt weighed in the U.S. Christian got word in October 2008 that the fish is now officially recognized as world junior record by the IGFA.
This 57.8 pound Record striper was caught in the Bras D'or lakes in Cape Breton Island by
16 year old Christian Levatte and it broke the old record of 54 pounds. Ken is on the left and Christian is on the right holding their trophy bass.
"A striped bass weighing 28.6 kg (62.9 lb) was caught near Reversing Falls in the Saint John River, New Brunswick, in 1979".
Before anyone else emails me about this If a fish wasnt caught by rod and reel and / or wasnt officially weighed its not a record. [email protected]
Nova Scotia Canada fisheries and Aquaculture
Tides Currents and Water Levels for North Eastern Canada
Regulations and Licensing
Nova Scotia Boat Ramps
Graphical and text versions
Spawning
In Canada, spawning occurs in May
and June in fresh water, usually just above the head of tide when
sea water warms to 15-18 oC. Eggs and milt are released directly
into the water column, and after about 72 hours fertilized eggs
hatch into free-swimming yolk-sac larvae. The duration of spawning
is brief, lasting about two weeks, after which time spent fish
return to sea. During summer and fall, adult and juvenile fish
undertake wide ranging feeding migrations along the coast, often
traveling several hundred kilometers beyond their natal rivers.
In late fall Striped Bass ascend the rivers to over-winter in fresh
water, in order to avoid low lethal marine temperatures. Site selection
for over-wintering sites appears to be unrelated to spawning sites,
and may be opportunistic, dependent on the geographic location
of the fish at the onset of winter. In other words, Striped Bass
do not necessarily over-winter in their spawning rivers. Males
generally spawn for the first time at about age three or four,
females at age four or five
Five self-sustaining (i.e. spawning) populations
of Striped Bass are known to have existed in Canadian waters. Four
of these were in Atlantic Canada, with documented spawning activity
on the Northwest Miramichi and Saint John rivers in New Brunswick
and on the Shubenacadie and Annapolis Rivers in Nova Scotia. The
fifth population spawned in the St. Lawrence River, Québec.
Self-sustaining Striped Bass populations from the Annapolis, the
Saint John, and the St. Lawrence rivers are believed to be extirpated.
( a wildlife species
that no longer exists in the wild in Canada, but exists elsewhere
in the wild.) There are currently only two sites in Atlantic
Canada where Striped Bass reproduce, the Northwest Miramichi River
estuary (this is the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence stock) and the
Shubenacadie-Stewiacke River estuary (this is the Inner Bay of Fundy
stock). These two populations are genetically distinct and both are
genetically distinct from Striped Bass found in US waters (Bradford
et al 1999).
Although Striped Bass still occur widely in Atlantic
Canadian waters, some of the fish that are present are likely migrants
from populations that spawn in US waters. The following S-ranks for
both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick refer to the status of the two
remaining spawning populations in those provinces, both of which
are of some conservation concern.
Currently in New Brunswick, a spawning population
of Striped Bass exists only in the Northwest Miramichi River, representing
the northern-most self-sustaining population of Striped Bass in North
America. The home range of the Miramichi-spawning population extends
throughout the entire southern Gulf of St Lawrence from Percé,
Québec to the Margaree River, Nova Scotia. This southern Gulf/Miramichi-spawning
population remains at low abundance and the population has declined
from a high of 50,000 spawning fish in 1995 to about 4,000 during
1998 to 2000 (Douglas et al 2001). This population exhibits large
annual fluctuations that are attributed to overfishing and year-class
failures caused by adverse environmental conditions (Bradford and
Chaput 1997). The commercial fishery for Striped Bass was closed
in 1996 but they are still taken as bycatch in a number of fixed-gear
commercial fisheries in the Miramichi system. The southern Gulf of
St. Lawrence stock has persisted, however, in spite of high harvest
mortality over many decades (Bradford et al 1999).
There has been no evidence of spawning on the Saint John River since
1979; surveys conducted in 1992 and 1994 were unsuccessful in collecting
eggs, larvae or juveniles (Jessop 1995). Adult Striped Bass still
occur in the Saint John River and throughout the Bay of Fundy, however
these are seasonal migrants that originate from rivers in the eastern
US or from the Shubenacadie River (Bradford et al 1999). Habitat
degradation and loss is believed responsible for the extinction of
the Saint John River Striped Bass spawning population. Construction
of the Mactaquac Dam, with subsequent impediment of access to spawning
grounds, and unnatural fluctuations in water velocity and volume
spilled from the dam, is considered to be the greatest factor leading
to extirpation of the spawning population in the Saint John River.
The Annapolis River spawning stock of Striped Bass
is believed to be extirpated, since viable spawning activity has
not been reliably documented since 1976. A remnant population of
adult fish greater than 20 years of age may still be extant in the
Annapolis River, as Striped Bass are quite long lived. These fish
may spawn but survival beyond the egg stage in the Annapolis River
is very low or negligible (Jessop 1990). The failure of naturally
spawned eggs to yield viable offspring may be a result of poor water
quality or alterations to the physical circulation of the estuary,
probably due to impacts from tidal power development and agricultural
runoff (Bradford et al 1999).
The Shubenacadie-Stewiacke population of Striped Bass has not been
formally assessed, although sampling with icthyoplankton nets and
beach seines suggests that Striped Bass spawn annually in the Shubenacadie
- Stewiacke River system (DFO 1999). The spawning, rearing and habitat
requirements of Shubenacadie Striped Bass have been fully determined
and their home range is virtually unknown, and may extend beyond
the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of Maine to the northeastern US. Though
limited retention of Striped Bass as bycatch from fisheries in the
Inner Bay of Fundy is permitted, precise levels of exploitation of
the Shubenacadie spawning stock in Canadian and US waters cannot
be determined (Bradford et al 1999).
Striped Bass in Prince Edward Island
reflects the fact that a non-breeding population occurs in the province.
Bass occur occasionally in a number of Prince Edward Island Rivers,
including the Hillsborough, Dunk and Morell, where they are often
taken as bycatch in the Gaspereau fishery. However, as seine sampling
in Prince Edward Island has failed to demonstrate the presence of
juvenile bass, the Prince Edward Island Striped Bass population is
considered to be from external origin, most likely from Miramichi
spawning stock.
Facts About Striped Bass
§ A striped
bass weighing 28.6 kg (62.9 lb) was caught near Reversing Falls in
the Saint John River, New Brunswick, in 1979.
§ The world
record (angling) striped bass weighing 35.6 kg (78 lb) was caught
at Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1982. The record Canadian striped
bass was caught in Nova Scotia in 1994. It weighted 54.06 lb.
§ A striped
bass tagged and released in the Saint John River, New Brunswick was
recaptured 36 days later in Rhode Island, U.S.A., 805 km (503 mi)
away! (22.4 km/day or 14 mi/day)
§ Surveys
show the average striped bass angler on the Annapolis River, Nova
Scotia, spends about 50 hours for each fish caught.
§ Striped bass have
been introduced to parts of Europe and Asia.
Nova Scotia fishing.com they also represent the Nova Scotia striped Bass Association
Stripers and Salmon fishing in Nova Scotia
Gaspereau striped bass fishing
Shubenacadie River and Lake,
and the Annapolis
River are waters on the Canadian shores of the canadian Gulf
where the striper attracts attention as a game fish, anglers visiting
the St. John are far more interested in salmon.
Neils Harbor N.S. Ckick to enlarge
*Data on the spawn courtesy of the Atlantic Canada Conservation Centre
