Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) did not cause increased mortality in experimentally challenged striped bass, Morone saxatilis (Walbaum). Fry became transiently infected after waterborne challenge but fingerlings were resistant to that route. However, striped bass fingerlings readily became chronic virus carriers following ingestion of IPNV-contaminated food. Vertical transmission was not demonstrated using either IPNV-carrier striped bass adults or IPNV-exposed sex products.