A hybrid striped bass, also known as a wiper or whiterock bass, is a hybrid between the

striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has ...

(''Morone saxatilis'') and the

white bass The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (''Morone chrysops'') is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. commonly around 12-15 inches long. The species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with white s ...

(''M. chrysops''). It can be distinguished from the striped bass by broken rather than solid horizontal stripes on the body. Hybrid striped bass are considered better suited for culture in

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from tha ...

s than either parent species because they are more resilient to extremes of temperature and to low dissolved oxygen. They became part of

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in the late 1980s. Most producers purchase the fish young (as fry or fingerlings) and raise them in

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does incl ...

ponds. Currently, about 10 million lb (4.5 million kg) are produced annually in the United States. Hybrid striped bass are used both as a gamefish and a food fish. Hybrid striped bass are produced two different ways. Some of these fish are produced by fertilizing

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

from white bass with

sperm Sperm is the male reproductive cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm with a tail known as a flagellum, ...

from striped bass; the resulting fish are also called "sunshine bass" or "Cherokee bass". Others are produced by fertilizing eggs from striped bass with sperm from white bass; the resulting fish is called a "palmetto bass". Hybrid striped bass are known for aggressive feeding habits which makes them highly sought-after by anglers. Often schooling by the thousands, these stocked fish surface feed on baitfish such as shad. Often called "breaking", this surface feeding makes the fish visible and easy to catch on a wide array of lures and baits. Popular lures include casting spoons, buck-tail jigs, soft-body plastic fish replicas, and inline spinners. Their quality as a hard-fighting gamefish is closely followed by their delicious firm, white, flaky meat. Many restaurants sell "striped bass" on their menus, but these are farm-raised hybrid striped bass.

Origins

Origins are from 1970s, when the first hybrids were stocked in Cherokee Lake in Tennessee. They became known as Cherokee bass, but most commonly are called 'hybrid' (Southeast) or 'wiper' (Midwest). They are stocked in dozens of large impoundments to control baitfish populations and provide sport for anglers. File:HybridBassCoosaRiver.jpg File:Streifenbarsch.jpg

Production

Produced in hatcheries, the most common hybridization is the female striped bass'' Morone saxatilis'' and the male white bass'' M. chrysops''. This is due to the high number of eggs produced by the female striped bass. This hybrid cross, palmetto bass, typically produces a faster-growing offspring which attains larger size than the sunshine bass. The female striped bass is injected with human gonadotropin which stimulates her to lay. Usually, around a dozen male white bass are in the tank when the spawn occurs. Once the eggs are fertilized, the brood fish are removed and the eggs must stay adrift in artificial current for about 48 hours to hatch. Natural hybridization occurs between the species, but it is usually the reverse cross which would be male ''M. saxatilis'' x female ''M. chrysops'', since the white bass eggs do not require the same degree of flotation to hatch. Their main diet includes shad, bluegill, sunfish, fathead minnows, and black and white crappie.

References

* * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2355543 Morone Fish hybrids