| Red
drum, Sciaenops ocellatus, are one of the most recreationally
sought-after fish throughout the South Atlantic. Since the 1980s
recreational fishing has accounted for about 90 percent of all red
drum landings. Over the past decade, anglers have generally harvested
between 250,000 and 500,000 fish per year. Red drum are landed commercially
in only a few states. Small trip limits (generally the same as each
state’s recreational creel limit) have kept the commercial
harvest between 50,000 and 300,000 pounds in most years of the last
two decades.
Through successful
joint management by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, red drum populations
have shown significant increases. Spawning potential ratio (SPR),
a measure of the fecundity of the population, is used to assess
the stock. The last red drum assessment in 2000 demonstrated increases
in SPR along the coast from 0.5-1.3 percent in 1987-1991 to 15-18
percent in 1992-1998. The next assessment for red drum will be
in 2009, and will look to see if SPR has reached the current target
of 40 percent.
The Commission
approved Amendment 2 to the Red Drum Fishery Management Plan in
2002. The Amendment required states to implement recreational
creel and size limits to achieve the stock status goal of 40 percent
SPR, including a maximum size limit of 27”, and maintain
existing commercial regulations. The management of red drum presents
two particular challenges. First, the fishery removes mostly juvenile
fish in state waters, which has significantly reduced recruitment
to the spawning stock. Second, data on the adult population are
limited, which makes assessing stock status difficult.<species
profile> <stock
status> <commercial
and recreational landings> <state
regulations> <habitat
fact sheet>
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