The Identity Crisis of Black Sea Bass

Today, the Black Sea Bass can be found on many restaurant menus, which is probably why their populations in the wild are starting to decline. In order to satisfy the popular demand, they have become a candidate for aquaculture on the east coast, the only problem being that they have a tendency to unpredictably change their sex while in captivity.

Assistant professor of zoology, David Berlinsky, at the University of New Hampshire has been granted funding from the NH Sea Grant to study what triggers the sex reversal in the black sea bass. According to Berlinsky, black sea bass are first born as females and then turn into males somewhere between 2 and 5 years old. However, it seems that the bass tend to turn into males faster when brought into captivity. Due to some of the research he has conducted, Berlinsky believes that the temperature of the water and the sex ratio of all the sea bass in captivity play a key role in the sex change of the sea bass. For example, Berlinksky discovered that the fish were more likely to become males if raised at constant temperatures. Additionally, females were more likely to change sex when there were no males present in the tanks or when there too many fish in the tanks in general.

Posted by Luzviminda Maurillo (6)