Advancing Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management: Biological Reference Points for Nutritional Status of Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis)

Current methods of assessing nutritional status have serious limitations, which are, at best, relative, and, at worse, lethal. The development of non-lethal bioelectrical impedance analysis technology has afforded the potential for improving the nutritional status assessment of Chesapeake Bay striped bass. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) involves passing a low-voltage, harmless current through an individual and using measures of electrical impedance to assess their fat-free mass and total body moisture. Prior field research has shown BIA is capable of producing accurate models of total body moisture in a variety of species. We will be discussing the validation of this technology by comparing BIA laboratory-derived measurements on multiple size class of striped bass held in differing temperatures to those values found in similar sized, wild-collected fish.  BIA analysis will also be compared to the current method of assessing striped bass nutritional status in the Chesapeake Bay, visually assessing visceral fat content. At the time of this abstract submission data collection is incomplete, however, results will be available prior to the conference and will be discussed at the symposium.