Head to head
European Sea Bass vs Striped Bass
European Sea Bass
VS Striped Bass
The European sea bass and the striped bass are two silvery, spiny-finned coastal predators on opposite sides of the Atlantic, and both are among the most valued fish for anglers and the table.
| European Sea Bass | Striped Bass | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Dicentrarchus labrax | Morone saxatilis |
| Relationship | A member of the temperate bass family, found in European waters | A member of the temperate bass family, found in North American waters |
| Markings | A streamlined, silvery body with a darker back and sharp spines on its gill covers | A silvery body, darker above, marked with seven or eight clean black horizontal lines along the flank |
| Size | A medium-to-large fish valued by anglers and restaurants | Commonly 5 to 15 kg, with the largest fish exceeding 25 kg and 1.5 m, and living more than 30 years |
| Diet | Small fish, crabs, shrimps, and squid | Fish such as menhaden, herring, silversides, and sand lance, along with squid, crabs, and worms |
| Breeding | Young fish spend their first years in sheltered estuaries and creeks, which act as nurseries before they move out to sea | Spends most of the year in coastal ocean waters, then runs up rivers and into estuaries in spring to spawn |
| Management | Heavily fished in northern waters, and now managed with minimum sizes, bag limits, and closed seasons | The Atlantic stock collapsed by the early 1980s, and a fishing moratorium and tight management brought it back, with the stock declared recovered in 1995 |
| Conservation status | Least Concern, from Norway to Morocco, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea | Least Concern, on the Atlantic coast of North America, and introduced to the Pacific coast and freshwater reservoirs |
European Sea Bass vs Striped Bass: common questions
How can you tell a sea bass from a striped bass?
The striped bass has seven or eight black stripes along its flanks, while the European sea bass is plain silvery with spines on its gill covers.
Are they closely related?
Yes, both belong to the temperate bass family, though they live on opposite sides of the Atlantic.
Which one runs up rivers to spawn?
The striped bass, which spends most of the year in coastal ocean waters and runs up rivers and into estuaries in spring to spawn.