Abstract

Fishermen on the east coast of the United States depend on catching black sea bass in the Atlantic Ocean, but first, they have to find them! We set out to understand why these fish migrate with changes in the seasons and where they hang out at different times of the year. Do the conditions in the ocean, like how cold or salty it is, determine where the fish go? Do the younger fish and adult fish go to the same places?

To answer these questions, we sent research boats out to catch black sea bass and measure water temperature and salt levels in different parts of the ocean off the eastern coast of North America. This information can help us understand what environmental conditions lead to young black sea bass survival, and estimate how many of these fish are in the ocean each year.