Effects of Temperature and Salinity on Growth of Juvenile Black Sea Bass, with Implications for Aquaculture

Abstract

The black sea bass Centropristis striata has recently gained popularity in the live seafood markets of the northeastern United States. Fish farmers need instruction on optimizing environmental parameters for the growth of black sea bass. In this study, optimal temperature and salinity were determined experimentally for the growth of juvenile black sea bass (initial mean weight, ∼9.2 g). The temperature experiment compared growth at temperatures of 15, 20, 25, and 30°C; the salinity experiment compared growth at 10, 20, and 30‰ salinities. Both of these experiments were performed in closed aquaria. At the end of the temperature experiment (6 weeks), Tukey's Studentized range test (α = 0.05) showed that fish reared at 25°C were significantly larger than those reared at 20°C and 30°C. All of these temperatures produced significantly larger fish than did the 15°C treatment. At the end of the salinity experiment (12 weeks), Tukey's Studentized range test (α = 0.05) showed that salinities of 20‰ and 30‰ did not produce significantly different weights in fish. However, both of these salinities produced significantly larger fish than did a salinity of 10‰. Given the results of these experiments, fish farmers can manipulate the environmental parameters of their aquacultural systems to optimize growth of juvenile black sea bass, thereby reducing the time required to produce a marketable product.