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                  LINA DEPARTMENT
                L RESOURCES AND
              TV  DEVOPMENT
               OF MARINE FISHERIES
       (q?4

                                    A BIOLOGICAL AND FISHERIES PROFILE OF

                                       RED DRUM, Sciaenops ocellatus

                                                    by

                                               Linda P. Mercer

                               North Carolina Department of Natural Resources

                                          and Community Development

                                        Division of Marine Fisheries

                                          Morehead City, NC 28577

                                      Special Scientific Report No. 41

                                                  July 1984

                  This report was prepared and published as part of the State-Federal
                  Fisheries Management Program, Project SF-13, funded by the U. S.
                  Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service.

                            1,600 copies of this public document were printed at
                 cr)               a cost of $2,114.70 or $1.322 per copy.
         co
          01     k-                            LIBRARY
                 CL__                         NOAA/CCEH
                                           1990 HOBSON AVE
                                          CHAS. SC 2@4OS-'?(-!'@

                                                        PREFACE

                     In the early 1970s, state marine fisheries management agencies and the
                     National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) began a cooperative program to
                     prepare and implement   .fishery management plans for coastal migratory
                     species and shared fisheries resources occurring in the Territorial Sea
                     along the Atlantic Coast of the United States. This effort, called the
                     State-Federal Fisheries Management Program, resulted in cooperative
                     management plans for species* such as the American lobster, surf clam,
                     striped bass, Atlantic menhaden, penaeid (southern) shrimp, pandalid
                     (northern) shrimp, and summer flounder, as well as development of a
                     cooperative statistics program in the Southeast Region of the United
                     States.   Several of these plans have been adopted and implemented by
                     regional Fisheries Management Councils under the Magnuson Fishery
                     Conservation and Management Act of 1976 (PL 94-265).         Funding for the
                     overall program has been provided by NMFS through the Atlantic States
                     Marine Fisheries Commission.      Since 1980, this coordination has been
                     formally    conducted   under    the   Commission's   Interstate     Fisheries
                     Management Program.    This red drum profile represents the initial step
                     in preparation of plans for cooperative management of important sciaenid
                     species occurring along the Atlantic Coast.

                                                      CONTENTS

                                                                                            Page

                      1. IDENTITY

                          1.1 Nomenclature  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     1

                          1.2 Taxonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      1

                          1.3 Morphology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .        3

                      2. DISTRIBUTION

                          2.1  General distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     5

                          2.2  Differential distribution  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     5

                               2.21 Spawn, larvae, and juveniles   . . . . . . . . . . . .    5

                               2.22 Adults  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     8

                          2.3  Determinants of distribution  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    9

                      3.  LIFE HISTORY

                          3.1  Reproduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    10

                          3.2  Pre-adult phase  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    15

                          3.3  Adult Rhase  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    15

                          3.4  Nutrition and growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    16

                          3.5  Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    17

                          .3.6 Contaminants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    22

                      4.  POPULATION

                          4.1 Structure   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    23

                          4.2 Abundance, density, mortality, and dynamics     . . . . . . .  29

                          4.3 Community ecology   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    38

                      5. EXPLOITATION

                          5.1 Commercial exploitation    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   38

                               5.11 Fishing equipment    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   38

                               5.12 Areas fished  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    39

                                                         V

                                 5.13 Fishing seasons  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    39

                                 5.14 Fishing operations and results  . . . . . . . . . . .   46

                                 5.15 Incidental catches  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   46

                           5.2   Recreational exploitation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   47

                                 5.21 Fishing equipment   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   47

                                 5.22  Areas fished . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . .   47

                                 5.23  Fishing seasons  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   48

                                 5.24  Fishing operations and results . . . . . . . . . . .   48

                       6. SOCIAL AND   ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS

                           6.1 Values  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    50

                           6.2   Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   53

                           6.3   Participation . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    53

                           6.4   Processors and product forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   53

                           6.5   Import/export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    54

                           6.6   Gear conflicts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   54

                           6.7   Commercial-recreational conflicts  . . . . . . . . . . . .   54

                       7.  MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION

                           7.1 Regulatory measures   . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    56

                           7.2 Habitat protection  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    64

                           7.3 Stocking  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    69

                       8.  CURRENT RESEARCH  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    70

                       9.  IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLEMS   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   71

                       10. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    71

                       11. REFERENCES  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    73

                                                         vi

                                                          TABLES

                                                                                                f!ge

                      Table 1. Standard length-total length relationships for red
                                 drum as reported in the literature   . . . . . . . . . . . .      4

                      Table 2.   Reported size and/or age at maturity for red drum      . . . .  11

                      Table 3.   Published fecundity estimates for red drum    . . . . . . . .   12

                      Table 4.   Size distribution (mm TQ of young-of-the-year red
                                 drum by month from Atlantic coast estuaries     . . . . . . .   14

                      Table 5.   Published red drum growth rates (where necessary,
                                 standard lengths converted to total lengths using
                                 Harrington et al. (1979); blanks indicate no
                                 estimates given) [from Swingle et al. 19831     . . . . . . .   18

                      Table 6.   Published total length-at-age estimates for red
                                 drum. (Where necessary, standard lengths converted
                                 to total lengths using TL=12.870 + 1.177 SL
                                 (Harrington et al.. 1979); blanks indicate no
                                 estimates given) [modified from Swingle et al.
                                 (1983)]  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      24

                      Table 7.   Empirical and back calculated total lengths for red
                                 drum collected in South Carolina, Georgia, and
                                 Florida  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      25

                      Table 8.   Estimates of von Bertalanffy growth parameters for
                                 red drum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      27

                      Table 9.   Published standard length-weight relationships for
                                 red drum [Music and Pafford (1984) and Harrington
                                 et al. (1979) are total length-weight relationships].
                                 Weight is in g and length in mm, except cm for
                                 Theiling and Loyacano (1976). [from Swingle et al.
                                 (1983)]  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      28

                      Table 10.  Commercial landings of red drum by state, 1887-1983
                                 (metric tons)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      31

                      Table 11.  Red drum recreational catch and effort statistics
                                 from National Marine Fisheries Service Salt-Water
                                 Angling Surveys, 1960-1970  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     36

                      Table 12.  Red drum recreational catch statistics from National
                                 Marine Fisheries Service Marine Recreational Fishery
                                 Statistics Surveys, 1980-1982    . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    37

                      Table 13.  Percentage of Virginia red drum landings by gear
                                 type, 1970-1983  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      40

                                                          Vii

                                                                                              Page

                    Table 14. Percentage of North Carolina red drum landings by
                               gear type, 1970-1983  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     41

                    Table 15.  Percentage of South Carolina red drum landings by
                               gear type, 1970-1983  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     42

                    Table 16.  Percentage of Georgia red drum landings by gear
                               type, 1970-1983  . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      43

                    Table 17.  Percentage of Florida East Coast red drum landings
                               by gear type, 1970-1977   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     44

                    Table 18.  Annual commercial catch of red drum (kg) by state
                               and water area for the Atlantic coast, 1968-1983
                               and percent caught in the estuaries    . . . . . . . . . . .    45

                    Table 19.  Number of red drum caught by U. S. anglers in each
                               region in 1965, 1970, and 1980 by principal area
                               and method of fishing   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     49

                    Table 20.  Unadjusted exvessel price of commercially-caught
                               red drum on the Atlantic coast by state, 1960-1982     . . . .  52

                    Table 21.  U. S. imports and exports of red drum, 1964-1983
                               (from Swingle et al. 1983)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     55

                    Table 22.  Synoptic overview of present state management
                               systems  . . . . . . . . . .   o . . . . . . . ...   o . . . .  57

                    Table 23.  Summary of state habitat protection regulations,
                               Rhode Island to Florida   . . . . . . . .   o . . . . . . . .   66

                                                      Viii

                                                       FIGURES

                                                                                             Page

                    Figure 1. Red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus (Linnaeus), 1766
                                (illustration by H.L. Todd from: Goode 1884)    . . . . . .     2

                    Figure 2. U. S. commercial landings of red drum for the
                                Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico, 1930-1983    . . . . . .    30

                    Figure 3.   U. S. commercial landings of red drum on the
                                Atlantic coast by state, 1950-1983    . . . . . . . . . . .    34

                    Figure 4. Dockside price of red drum for the Atlantic
                                coast and Gulf of Mexico, 1960-1983   . . . . . . . . . . .    51

                                                       ix

                      IDENTITY

                      1.1 Nomenclature

                            The valid name for red drum is Sciaenops ocellatus (Linnaeus)
                            1766 (Figure 1).  The following synonymy is after Jordan and
                            Evermann (1896):

                                 Perca ocellata Linnaeus, 1766
                                 Cutjanus triangulum Lacepede, 1802
                                 Sciaena imberbis Mitchill, 1815
                                 Corvina ocellata Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1830
                                 Johnius ocellatus Girard, 1859
                                 Sciaena ocellata Gunther, 1860

                      1.2 Taxonomy

                            Classification follows Greenwood et al. (1966). Taxa higher
                            than superorder are not included.

                                 Superorder: Acanthopterygii
                                   Order: Perciformes
                                     Suborder: Percoidei
                                       Family: Sciaenidae
                                         Genus: Sciaenops
                                           Species: Sciaenops ocellatus

                            Red drum is one of 22 members of the family Sciaenidae found
                            along the Atlantic and/or Gulf coasts of the United States
                            (Robins et al. 1980).   This family is commonly known as the
                            drums since many of its members, including red drum, produce
                            drumming sounds by vibrating their swim bladders with special
                            muscles (Jordan and Evermann 1896; Bigelow and Schroeder 1953;
                            Fish and Mowbray 1970; Guest and Lasswell 1978). Chao (1978)
                            assessed the phylogenetic relationships of all western
                            Atlantic genera of Sciaenidae on the basis of swim bladder,
                            otoliths (sagitta and lapillus), and external morphology, and
                            presented a tested key to species and genera.        The genus
                            Sciaenops is monotypic.

                            Red drum is the common name given Sciaenops ocellatus by the
                            American Fisheries Society (Robins et al. 1980). Other common
                            names include channel bass, puppy drum, redfish, bull redfish,
                            bass, red bass, sea bass, spotted bass, spottail, rat red,
                            pescado colorado, drum, and branded drum (Smith 1907; Jordan
                            et al. 1930; Hildebrand and Schroeder 1928; Shiino 1976).

                                                                  "0

                     I ci@

                            Figure 1. Red drum, Sciaeno     ellatus (Linnaeus), 1766 (illustration by H
                                       from: Goo e 1884

                      1.3   Morphology

                            The following description is that of Johnson (1978),
                            summarized from Jordan and Evermann (1896), Hildebrand and
                            Schroeder (1928), Topp and Cole (1968), Simmons (1969), Miller
                            and Jorgenson (1973), and Chao (1976).

                                 D.  X-I, 23-25; A.     11, 7-8; C.    9+8, procurrent rays
                                 8-10+7-10; V.   1, 5; scales 40-45 in a lateral series;
                                 vertebrae 10+15, pleural ribs 8, epipleural ribs 7; gill
                                 rakers 4-5+7-9; branchiostegals 7; teeth small conical in
                                 jaws, set in bands, outer row teeth of upper jaw slightly
                                 enlarged; lower jaw teeth subequal; no teeth on vomer,
                                 palatines, or tongue.

                                 Head 2.8-3.3, depth 3.3-3.9 in SL; snout 3.3-3.8, eye
                                 3.1-4.7, maxillary 2.5, interorbital 3.7-4.6, pectoral
                                 fin 1.5-1.8 in head.

                                 Body elongate, rather robust, not much compressed; back
                                 moderately arched; ventral outline nearly straight; head
                                 rather long and low; snout conical; mouth horizontal,
                                 lower jaw included; lower jaw with five pores, without
                                 barbels; maxillary almost reaching below posterior margin
                                 of eye. Scales rather large, strongly ctenoid; no scales
                                 on soft dorsal fin; scales of breast embedded, cycloid.
                                 Dorsal fin continuous, with a deep notch between the
                                 spinous and soft portions; dorsal spines rather stiff,
                                 pungent; second anal spine thick, much shorter than
                                 longest soft rays; posterior margin of caudal fin
                                 straight to slightly concave; pectoral fin as long as
                                 pelvic fin.     Preopercular margin serrate in smaller
                                 specimens, becoming entire in specimens of about 9-13 kg.

                                 Pigmentation: May be silvery, grayish, bronze, copperyl
                                 yellow, and sometimes almost black; often        silvery or
                                 copperish in Gulf, darker in muddy bays; each    scale with
                                 a dark center, forming rather obscure,           irregular,
                                 undulating brown stripes along scale rows; one   to several
                                 (most frequently 1) jet black spots at base of   caudal and
                                 below the soft dorsal fin above lateral line;    dorsal and
                                 caudal fins dusky; anal and pelvic fins white;   outer part
                                 of pectoral fin bright rusty.

                            Topp and Cole (1968) described the osteology of Sciaenops
                            based on a study of 21 specimens (30 mm SL-195 mm skull
                            length). Powles and Stender (1978) described morphometric and
                            meristic development of nine larval red drum (4.1-7.9 mm SL)
                            from South Carolina estuaries and the Cape Fear River estuary,
                            North Carolina.    Standard length-total length relationships
                            were determined for red drum in Georgia (Jorgenson and Miller
                            1968), Texas (Harrington et al. 1979), Louisiana (Hein et al.
                            1980), and Mississippi (Overstreet 1983) (Table 1).

              Table 1. Standard length-total length relationships for red drum as reported in the literature.

                                                          Size range
              Location            Reference                 (mm TL)                  N          Relationship                           r

              Georgia             Jorgenson and             16-40                    5          TL w 0.469 + 1.247 SL
                                    Miller (1968)
                                                                                                SL = -0.290 + 0.799 TL

              Texas               Harrington et al.         92-937               8982           TL = 12.870 + 1.177 SL              0.995
                                     (1979)

              Louisiana           Hein et al. (1980)        14-1135               302           SL - -2.0520 + 0.8369 TL            0.9996

              Mississippi         Dverstreet (1983)        175-1138               861           TL = 7.3032 + 1.1712 SL             0.9975

                                                                                                SL = -3.4416 + 0.8495 TL            0.9975

                    2.  DISTRIBUTION

                        2.1   General distribution

                              Red drum have been reported from the Gulf of Maine off
                              Massachusetts to Key West, Florida, on the Atlantic coast but
                              are rare north of New Jersey (Smith 1898; Yokel 1966; Lux and
                              Mahoney 1969). Commercial landings of red drum have generally
                              declined along the Middle Atlantic coast and none have been
                              reported north of Chesapeake Bay since 1950 (Yokel 1980). Red
                              drum occur in the Gulf of Mexico from extreme southwest
                              Florida continuously along the Gulf coast to Zamora, Vera
                              Cruz, Mexico (Yokel 1966; Castro Aguirre 1978).

                        2.2 Differential distribution

                              2.21 Spawn, larvae, and juveniles

                                   Observations of gravid and spent adults and collections
                                   of larvae indicate that red drum spawn in the ocean along
                                   beaches and in the vicinity of inlets and passes (Pearson
                                   1929; Miles 1950; Simmons and Breuer 1962; Yokel 1966;
                                   Hein and Shepard in press). Red drum eggs were observed
                                   being carried into seagrass beds by tidal currents in
                                   Redfish    Bay,   Texas    (S.  Holt    and   Arnold     1982).
                                   Collections of red drum larvae (2.0 Em NL-5.2 mm SQ from
                                   eelgrass beds on the eastern shore side of Chesapeake
                                   Bay, approximately 37 km from the bay entrance,             ani
                                   observations of gravid adults in Tampa Bay, Florida
                                   suggest that some spawning may occur within estuaries.

                                   In the Gulf of Mexico red drum larvae (< 7 mm TL) and
                                   postlarvae (7-42 mm TL) have been collected in nearshore
                                   oceanic waters, passes and inlets to estuarine waters,
                                   and within estuaries (Pearson 1929; Miles 1950; Yokel
                                   1966; Jannke 1971; King 1971; Sabins and Truesdale 1974;
                                   Richardson and Laroche 1982; Robison in press). Within
                                   estuaries young red drum are generally found in quiet
                                   shallow waters with grassy or slightly muddy bottoms that

                    1
                    Unpublished data on file at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science,
                    Gloucester Point, Virginia.
                    2M. Murphy and R. Taylor, Florida Department of Natural Resources, St.
                    Petersburg, Florida, personal communication.

                                          are not greatly affected by tides (Perret et al. 1980).
                                          A study of the distribution of young red drum (6-27 mm
                                          SQ among different shoal-grass (Halodule wrightii) beds
                                          in Texas found that the ecotone between seagrass and
                                          nonvegetated bottom had significantly more red drum than
                                          did homogeneously vegetated sites.         No red drum were
                                          found on large (>5 m across) nonvegetated sites (Holt,
                                          Kitting, and Arnold 1983).      In Tampa Bay young red drum
                                          (8-20 mm SL) were collected along the shoreline over soft
                                          mud to sandy bottom, often with submerged grasses or
                                          shore grasses and little current.          Larger individuals
                                          (20-40 mm SQ were collected in bayous and backwaters
                                          with low salinity, muddy bottom, little or no submerged
                                          vegetation and usually some detritus.        Juveniles (40-90
                                          mm SL) were found in semiexposed areas such as river
                                          mouths with mud to moderately sandy bottoms, little or no
                                          coverl and moderately low salinities and currents.
                                          Larger fish (160-250 mm SL) were found in exposed areas
                                          of embayments and rivers with moderate currsnts, sand/mud
                                          or rubble bottoms, and moderate salinities.

                                          Most juvenile or immature red drum (<700-750 mm TQ
                                          remain in Gulf of Mexico estuaries throughout the year,
                                          but move into deeper waters of bays during winter
                                          (Pearson 1929; Miles 1950; Simmons and Breuer 196             -2;
                                          Breuer    1973;   Loman    1978;   Osburn    et   al.     1982).
                                          Young-of-the-year moved out of the seagrass beds in
                                          Redfish Bay, Texas in late November with the onset of
                                          cold (<16*C) water temperatures (S. Holt and Arnold
                                          1982).   Tagging studies have shown that there is very
                                          little inter-bay movement of immature red drum in Texas
                                          (Simmons and Breuer 1962; Osburn et al. 1982) or Florida
                                          (Ingle et al. 1962; Topp 1963).       Immature red drum (100
                                          mm-460 mm TL) have also been collected in the Gulf surf
                                          zone in summer (Gunter 1958; Simmons and Hoese 19,59;
                                          McFarland 1963; Heffernan 1973), and Gulf-to-bay movement
                                          of red drum (203-254 mm TQ in Texas was noted by Simmons
                                          (1951).

                                          Information on the distribution of juvenile red drum on
                                          the Atlantic coast is limited.       Postlarval red   trum are
                                          found over sand and mud bottom    5in North Carolina, around
                                          oyster bars in South Carolina, and over muddy bottoms in

                         3K. Peters and B. McMichael, Florida Department of Natural Resources,
                          personal communication.
                          4Unpublished data on file at the North Carolina Division of Marine
                          Fisheries, Morehead City, North Carolina.
                         5G. Ulrich, South Carolina Marine Resources Center, Charleston2 South
                          Carolina, personal communication.

                                            6
                                    Florida  .  In the Cape Fear River estuary, North Carolina
                                    postlarval red drum accumulated in greater numbers in the
                                    upper reaches of creeks, gradually decreasing in
                                    densities downstream (Weinstein 1979).        Setzler (1977)
                                    demonstrated the transport of red drum larvae from 10.5
                                    km offshore to the lower salinity waters at the head of
                                    Doboy Sound, Georgia. In that study significantly higher
                                    densities of red drum were caught on flood tides than on
                                    ebb tides and larvae collected at inshore stations were
                                    significantly larger than those from offshore. Mansueti
                                    (1960) speculated that red drum larvae are carried
                                    passively into Chesapeake Bay by deep sub-surface high
                                    density water currents, and at about 5 mm TL move into
                                    shallow water (<1.5 m).

                                    Yokel (1966) stated that juvenile red drum have a more
                                    pronounced seasonal pattern of distribution in Chesapeake
                                    Bay and North Carolina than in the Gulf of Mexico, moving
                                    into deeper areas of estuaries or the sea in the fall and
                                    winter.     Juveniles    (20-90   mm   TQ    were     collected
                                    throughout Chesapeake Bay from September to November
                                    (Hildebrand and Schroeder 1928; Mansueti 1960).             Two
                                    juveniles (58 and 66 mm) were collected in November and
                                    December in the thermal plume of the Indian River Power
                                    Plant, Indian River Bay, Delaware (Wang and Kernehan
                                    1979).   Juvenile red drum 15-391 mm. TL were collected
                                    through December, with young-of-the-year first appearing
                                    in September, 1972-1983 in nursery area surveys of
                                    Pamlico Sound, No@th Carolina (Spitsbergen and Wolff
                                    1974; Wolff 1976).      Schwartz et al. (1981) listed red
                                    drum as occurring year-round in the..._Cape Fear River
                                    estuary.   Large numbers of young red drum (up to 8 kg)
                                    are occasionally gigged in North Carolina sounds in the
                                    winter (Angler gigs 352 puppy drum.         1984).   In South
                                    Carolina red drum (37-100 mm) have been collected in
                                    shallow-waters of marsh-tidal creeks and in tidal
                                    impoundments during September through November (Bearden
                                    1967; Smith and Moore 1979).       In Georgia red drum were
                                    collected by seines in a variety of habitats, including
                                    beach,    high   marsh,    tidal   canals,    and   low-    and
                                    high-salinity tidal pools (Dahlberg 1972).          Young and
                                    juveniles were usually collected in the shallow shore
                                    zones of the Indian River lagoon, Florida (Snelson 1983).

                     6
                     K. Peters, Florida Department of Natural Resources, personal
                     communication.
                    7Unpublished data on file at the North Carolina Division of Marine
                     Fisheries, Morehead City, North Carolina.

                                    2.22  Adults

                                          Information on the distribution of adult red drum has
                                          been   obtained    from    biologists,    recreational      and
                                          commercial fishermen, and menhaden spotter pilots (Yokel
                                          1966; Overstreet 1983).     Along the Gulf coast red drum
                                          move from the estuaries to the Gulf of Mexico at maturity
                                          (>700 mm FL) (Yokel 1966).      After spawning some of the
                                          adults may move back into bays for a short time (Miles
                                          1951), but on the whole less time is spent in the estuary
                                          after maturity (Pearson    1929; Simmons and Hoese 1959).
                                          Large schools of red drum have been observed as far as 19
                                          km offshore (Simmons and Breuer 1962). Overstreet (1983)
                                          reported that commercial fishermen have observed schools
                                          of 150-250 thousand fish (2-30 million kg) in the Gulf.
                                          Schools of red drum (5-15 kg) have been observed feeding
                                          along the shoreline of islands or the mainland at depths
                                          >1.2 m from low tide through flood tide.          The schools
                                          often occur near black drum, Atlantic tarpon, and pompano
                                          and are sometimes caught under schools of blue runner at
                                          a depth of 37 m (Anonymous 1982a).       Ross et al. (1983)
                                          captured 16 adult fish (808-1,050 mm TQ during late
                                          autumn, winter and early spring off Freeport, Texas, 88%
                                          of which were captured in March and April at depths of
                                          13-22 m.     Schools of red drum have been monitored
                                          commonly at depths of approximately 40-70 m (Overstreet
                                          1983). During summer schools of red drum are more spread
                                          out than during spring and autumn, occurring all over
                                          Mississippi Sound and adjacent regions (Overstreet 1983).

                                          Adult red drum migrate seasonally along the coasts of
                                          North Carolina and Virginia, moving inshore and north in
                                          spring and offshore and south in fall. In Chesapeake Bay
                                          red drum are taken from May until October and are most
                                          abundant during spring and fall (Hildebrand and Schroeder
                                          1928).   Largest catches of citation red drum (>18 kg)
                                          along the Outer Banks of North Carolina are Ve from
                                          late March through May and in October-November.           Large
                                          schools of red drum have been9observed in Pamlico Sound,
                                          North Carolina during summer.      In winter they have been
                                          caught off the coast of North Carolina in the trawl
                                          fishery (Pearson 1932; Ross et fa. 1983) and in trawl
                                          surveys at depths of 10-40 m.            Red drum have been

                           8Unpublished North Carolina Saltwater Fishing Tournament data on file
                           at the North Carolina Office of Travel and Tourism, Raleigh, North
                           Carolina.
                           9J. Brown, North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, Morehead City,
                           North Carolina, personal communication.
                          10 Unpublished data on file at the North Carolina Divison of Marine
                           Fisheries, Morehead City, North Carolina.

                                  reportel,off South Carolina in 13-26 m in winter-early
                                  spring.    In Georgia red drum >4 yr are generally found
                                  along the beaches and in offshore waters (Music and
                                  Pafford 1984).    In the Indian    River   lagoon area     of
                                  Florida,   red   drum   were reported as common in the
                                  benthic-open shelf habitat and frequent in the surf zone,
                                  inlets, and lagoon (Gilmore et al. 1981; Snelson 1983).

                       2.3   Determinants of distribution

                             Red drum are euryhaline, having been reported from fresh water
                             to salinities of 50 ppt on the Gulf coast (Gunter 1942, 1945,
                             1956, 1959; Kilby 1955; Simmons 1957; Briggs 1958; Springer
                             1960; Springer and Woodburn 1960; Tabb and Manning 1961;
                             Gunter and Hall 1962; Simmons and Breuer 1962; Perret 1971).
                             Simmons and Breuer (1962) reported that the optimum salinity
                             range for red, drum was 20-40 ppt. Red drum were collected on
                             the east coast of Florida at salinities from 0-29.9 ppt
                             (Springer 1960; Tagatz 1967). In North Carolina estuaries red
                             drum (10-391 mm TL) were collected over a salinity range of
                             0-22.3 ppt (Tagatz and Dudley 1961). Yokel (1966) suggested a
                             direct relationship between size and salinity, with juveniles
                             more common at low salinities and large fish preferring higher
                             salinities.   This is typical of many species that utilize
                             estuaries as nursery areas (Gunter 1938, 1945).

                             Crocker et al. (1981) evaluated survival and growth of
                             juvenile red drum in fresh and salt water and found that
                             tolerance to fresh water was size dependent.       They f ound 5%
                             survival in larvae (23-day-old, 6.2 mm SL), 70% for postlarvae
                             (34- and 47-day-old, 16.2-19.7 mm SL), and 95% for juveniles
                             (57-day-old, 56.9 mm SL) subjected to dechlorinated fresh
                             water for 96 hours. Survival in control salinities of 10 ppt
                             was 90% or greater.     Wakeman and Wohlschlag (1983) studied
                             osmotic adaptation with respect to blood serum osmolality and
                             oxygen uptake in hatchery-reared (1.3-3.8 g) and wild juvenile
                             red drum.  The rapid stabilization of both serum osmolalities
                             and standard metabolic rates indicated that red drum are well
                             adapted to natural rapid salinity changes.

                             Red drum have been collected over a temperature range of
                             2-33*C, although they usually move into deeper water at the
                             extremes (Simmons and Breuer 1962). Springer (1960) collected
                             red drum from 2-29*C in the St. Lucie and Indian Rivers,
                             Florida.  Red drum (10-415 mm FL) were collected in a North
                             Carolina estuary from 7.5-26.8*C (Tagatz and Dudley 1961).

                    C. Wenner, South Carolina Marine Resources Research Institute,
                    Charleston, S.C., personal communication.

           10

                                    Gunter (1947) reported that larger juveniles and adults were
                                    more susceptible to the effects of winter cold waves than were
                                    smaller fish. High red drum mortality in Texas during freezes
                                    was documented by Gunter (1941) and Gunter and Hildebrand
                                    (1951). Red drum were killed in three out of nine severe cold
                                    spells at Sanibel Island, Florida, but the kills were never
                                    severe (Storey and Gudger 1936). Red drum were found dead or
                                    dying in the power plant intake canal and on shoals that had
                                    iced over in the lower Cape Fear River estuary, North Carolina
                                    during the severe winters of 1976 and 1977 (Schwartz et al.
                                    1981).

                         3.   LIFE HISTORY

                              3.1   Reproduction

                                    Size and age of red drum at sexual maturity are not well
                                    known and apparently vary in different areas of the" range
                                    (Pearson 1929; Gunter 1950; Miles 1951; Simmons and Breuer
                                    1962; Yokel 1966; Hein and Shepard in press) (Table 2).            On
                                    the Atlantic coast age and size at ma@yity was determined for
                                    the Mosquito Lagoon area of Florida.          Males began maturing
                                    at age I+ between 470-530 mm FL, and females first matured
                                    between ages Il and III when 575-760 mm FL. Music and Pafford
                                    (1984) collected a single ripening male (755 mm TL, age II) in
                                    a Georgia study.

                                    Fecundity of red drum has been estimated from both laboratory-.,
                                    reared and wild caught fish (Table 3). Multiple spawning was'@
                                    reported in laboratory-induced spawning experiments in which'
                                    th5ee females (9-15 kg) in Texas produced an estimated 6.0 x
                                    10 fertilized eggs in 52 spawns during 76 days (Arnold et al.
                                    1977).    In Florida  6experiments four females (1.68-7.95 kg)
                                    produced 8.43 x 10      eggs during 90 @ays and eight females
                                    (1.68-7.95 kg) produced 4.41 x 10            eggs over 100 days
                                    (Roberts, Harpster, and Henderson 1978).         Overstreet (1983)
                                    presented a standard length-fecundity relationship for 22 red
                                    drum (294-800 mm SL) in Mississippi as:          Log F = 3.6976 +
                                    0.0050 SL (r = 0.9539), where F is the number of oocytes
                                    16-300 .11 m.   The maximum estimated numbers           of oocytes
                                    (16-30 pm) for a 785 mm    7SL (894 mm TQ red drum      in March in
                                    that study was   6.20 x 10 (volumetric displacement     method) and
                                    9.45 x 10  7 (gravimetric method).     These may be overestimates
                                    because red drum are "resting" in March and reserve oocytes

                         12M. Murphy and R. Taylor. Paper presented to the Florida Cha       .pt'oer of
                           the American Fisheries Society, Brooksville, Florida, February 8-9,
                           1983.

             Table 2. Reported size and/or age at maturity for red drum.

             Location                         Reference                       Size                             Age

             Texas                            Pearson (1929)                  750-810 mm TL                    4 or 5

             South Texas                      Gunter (1950)                   406-432 mm TL

             Texas                            Miles (1951)                    750 mm                           4

             Texas                            Simmons and Breuer (1962)       700-800 mm SL                    3 or 4

             Louisiana                        Hein and Shepard (in press)     851 mm TL (females)
                                                                              780 mm TL (males)

             Mississippi                      Overstreet (1983)               550-699 mm SL

             Southwest Florida                Gunter (1950)                   380 mm TL

             Southwest Florida                Yokel (1966)                    630 mm FL

             Tampa Bay, Florida               (1)                             430-490 mm FL (males)            I+

                                                                              610-670 mm FL (females)          1-3

             Mosquito Lagoon area,                                            470-530 mm FL (males)            1+
               Florida
                                                                              575-760 mm FL (females)          2-3

             M. Murphy and R. Taylor. Paper presented to Florida Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, Brooksville, Florida.
              Febuary 8-9, 1983.

             Table 3. Published fecundity estimates for red drum.

                                                                                              Number
             Reference               State             Environment          Size              of eggs                     Comments

             Pearson (1929)          Texas                wild            90 cm TL            3.4 x 10 6         Determined by volume and
                                                                                                                 weight methods.
             Miles (1950)            Texas                wild            750-825 mm          2.5 x 10 6         "Granular stage" of
                                                                          (age 5)                                development.
             Colura (1974)           Texas             laboratory         26 lb               2.9 x 10 6         Second natural spawn;
                                                                                                                 estimate was probably high
                                                                                                                 because of investigator's
                                                                                                                 inability to get an even
                                                                                                                 distribution of eggs in
                                                                                                                 aliquot samples.
             Arnold et al.           Texas             laboratory         3 fish              6.0 x 10 7         Fish were subjected to
               (1977)                                                     (9-15 kg)                              photoperiod and temperature
                                                                                                                 regimes; produced in 52
                                                                                                                 spawns during 76 days.
             Roberts, Harpster,      Florida           laboratory                             2.1 x 10 6         Natural spawn after con-
               and Henderson                                                                                     ditioning; 4 fema@es
               (1978)                                                                                            produced 8.4 x 10 embryos
                                                                                                                 during a 90-day period.
             Overstreet              Mississippi          wild            9,776.7 9           15.8 x 10 6        Based on number of eggs
               (1983)                                                                                           >16pm by volumetric dis-
                                                                                                                 placement method.

                                                                                                 13

                           cannot be distinguished from recruit oocytes.         Furthermore,
                           Overstreet (1983) stated that vitellogenesis occurred in
                           oocytes as small as 70pm but was typically more apparent in
                           those >100 pm.

                           In the Gulf of Mexico red drum spawn from August to
                           mid-November with a peak in      September or October (Pearson
                           1929; Miles 1951; Springer and Woodburn 1960; Yokel 1966;
                           Christmas and Waller 1973; Sabins and Truesdale 1974; Stuck
                           and Perry 1982; Hein and Shepard in press).         Jannke (1971)
                           reported that spawning in southwestern Florida occurred from
                           mid-September   through   mid-February, peaking      in  October.
                           Collections of larvae and juveniles indicate        that spawning
                           along the Atlantic coast may begin in July or            possibly
                           earlier, and continue through December with a peak in late
                           September or October (Hildebrand and Schroeder 1928;     Mansueti
                           1960; Tagatz and Dudley 1961; Yokel 1966; Williams and Deubler
                           1968; Mahood et al. 1?14; Spitsbergen and Wolff 1974; Wolff
                           1976; Weinstein 1979)      (Table 4).    Yokel (1966) suggested
                           that spawning may also occur in spring on the Florida east
                           coast, based on reports from anglers, commercial fishermen,
                           and juvenile collections.     However, a study of the annual
                           cycle of oocyte development and gonadosomatic indices for red
                           drum from east-central Florida found        14 discrete spawning
                           season during September and        October.       Collections of
                           juveniles (35-55 mm FL) in western Pamlico Sound, North
                           Carolina in July (Spitsbergen and Wolff 1974) (Table 4)
                           suggest a late winter or spring spawning in North Carolina.

                           Red drum spawning has been induced in culture systems by
                           manipulating temperature and photoperiod combinations to
                           simulate optimal conditions or seasonal variations.      Spawning
                           occurred under full-winter conditions (9 hr light and 15 hr
                           dark, 22-23*0 after a 7 month recycling through the four
                           seasons   (Arnold et al. 1977).         Roberts, Harpster, and
                           Henderson (1978) obtained successful spawning at 10 hr 15 min
                           light and 22-26*C after three differing regimes of photoperiod
                           and temperature.    Holt, Godbout, and Arnold (1981) reported
                           that red drum stopped spawning in the laboratory when the
                           temperature dropped below 20'C.

                           Spawning in the laboratory occurred around dusk and was
                           preceded by color changes in the males, drumming, and nudging.
                           Males became dark red to bluish-gray on the dorsum above the
                           lateral line and pale white on the ventrum, while females
                           retained their characteristic reddish color. Drumming began

                 13 Unpublished data, North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries,
                  Morehead City, N.C.
                 14 R. Taylor, Florida Department of Natural Resources, St. Petersburg,
                  Floridas personal communication.

             Table 4. Size distribution (mm TL) of young-of-the-year red drum by month from Atlantic coast estuaries.

             Author        Mansueti      Hildebrand -and     Tagatz and       Spitsbergen and Wolff Weinstein (1979) Mahood et al.
                            (1960)       Schroeder (1928) Dudley (1961)       (1974), Wolff (1976)                              (1974)
             Locality      Chesapeake    Chesapeake Bay      Neuse River,     Pamlico Sound and         Cape Fear River, Georgia
                           Bay                                 N.C.           tributaries, N.C.                 N.C.
             Period        1953-1960     1921                1957-1960        1972-1975                                       1970-1973
                                                                              1979-1983

             January         -              -                  -                     -

             February        -              -                  -                     -                          -                      -

             March           -              -                   47                 45-88                        -                     92

             April           -              -                57-76                 75-145                       -                     105

             May             -              -                  -                   80-165                       -                     164

             June            -              -                                      95-225                       -                      -

             July            -           165-225               -                   35-245                       -                      -

             August          -              -                80-85                230-330                     13-15                    -

             September     20-60          20-52              27-62                 12-390                       5-30                   -

             October       20-75          25-53              10-85                 15-335                     12-40                   34

             November      30-84          39-90              25-71                 15-75                      23-47                   57

             December        -              -                34-37                 55-95                      23-48                    -

             1Unpublished data, North Carolina Division      of Marine Fisheries, Morehead City, N.C.

                                                                                               15

                           around dusk and males swam near females and began nudging them
                           near their urogenital opening. Nudging and drumming reached a
                           peak and were followed by the release of eggs and milt. Sound
                           production resumed but decreased after spawning (Chapman 1967;
                           Arnold et, al.    1977; Guest and Lasswell 1978; Roberts,
                           Harpster, and Henderson 1978; Holt, Holt, and Arnold 1983).
                           Smith (1907) reported that only males drum.

                           Red drum eggs were described from laboratory spawnings by
                           Johnson et al. (1977) and Holt, Godbout, and Arnold (1981).
                           Vetter et al. (1983) investigated energy metabolism in red
                           drum eggs.   Holt, Godbout, and Arnold (1981) reported that
                           laboratory-reared red drum eggs developed successfully to
                           feeding larvae at salinities of 10-40 ppt at 25*C, and best
                           conditions for hatching were 30 ppt salinity and 25'C.

                     3.2   Pre-adult phase

                           Red drum larvae were described by Pearson (1929), Jannke
                           (1971), Lippson and Moran (1974), Johnson et al. (1977),
                           Powles and Stender (1978), and Holt, Johnson et al. (1981).

                           Hatching in the laboratory occurred in 19-20 hr after
                           fertilization at 24*C (Arnold et al. 1977) and about 28-29 hr
                           at 22-23-C (Holt, Johnson et al. 1981).      Length at hatching
                           was 1.71-1.79 mm SL (Holt, Johnson et al. 1981).        The best
                           conditions for 24-hr larval survival were 30 ppt salinity and
                           25*C and the survival rate of 2-wk-old larvae was reduced at
                           20*C (Holt, Godbout and Arnold 1981).       Survival rates were
                           greatly increased when larvae were maintained at 25*C through
                           the yolk-sac stage and first feeding     (3 days) before being
                           exposed to 20% (J. Holt and Arnold 1982).         Length of the
                           yolk-sac stage varied from 40 hr at     30*C to 84 hr at 20*C
                           (Holt, Johnson et al. 1981).    Johnson  et al. (1977) reported
                           that red drum larvae began feeding at 60 hr post-hatch
                           (23-25%). Survival was greater for those larvae offered food
                           on day 3 (14.0%) as compared to day 2 (3.5%) or day 4 (4.0%)
                           (Roberts, Morey et al. 1978).

                     3.3   Adult phase

                           Maximum age for red drum has not been determined because of
                           problems with age determination techniques.       A maximum age
                           estimate of 33 years for red drum on the east coast of Florida
                           was base@5 on interpretation of banding patterns on otolith
                           sections.      However, only the      first three bands were

                15 M. Murphy, Florida Department of Natural Resources, St. Petersburg,
                  Florida, personal communication.

           16

                                    adequately validated as annual marks. The maximum known time
                                    at liberty shown by tagging is 12 years f or a f ish tagged at
                                    300 mm and recovered at 18 kg (Simmons and Breuer 1976). The
                                    IGFA record is a 40.8 kg fish (Anonymous 1983a) which
                                    indicates that red drum longevity is probably greater than 12
                                    years.

                                    Parasites, diseases, mortalities, and abnormal conditions of
                                    red drum were reviewed by Yokel (1966), Perret et al. (1980),
                                    and Overstreet (1983).

                              3.4   Nutrition and growth

                                    Crustaceans (crabs and shrimp) and f ishes are most important
                                    in the diet of red drum in the Gulf of Mexico (Pearson 1929;
                                    Gunter 1945; Kemp 1949; Miles 1950, 1951; Knapp 1950; Reid
                                    1955; Darnell 1958, 1961; Inglis 1959; Springer and Woodburn
                                    1960; Simmons and Breuer 1962; Yokel 1966; Fontenot and
                                    Rogillio 1970; Boothby and Avault 1971; Bass and Avault 1975;
                                    Odum and Heald 1975; Rogillio 1975; Overstreet and Heard 1978;
                                    Matlock and Garcia@ 1983) and on the Atlantic Coast (Linton
                                    1905; Hildebrand and Schroeder 1928; Overstreet and Heard
                                    1978).   Large red drum (430-1,020 mm SL) collected off the
                                    beach at Sapelo Island, Georgia, fed heavily during summer on
                                    echinoderms (five-lunuled sand dollars and sea cucumbers), in
                                    addition to crabs and fishes (Overstreet and Heard 1978).           A
                                    preliminary study of red drum (>3.6-4.5 kg) feeding habits in
                                    the Hatteras-Ocracoke area of North Carolina indicated that
                                    primary food items were blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) and
                                    various fishes including striped mullet (Mugil cephalus), spot
                                    (Leiostomus xanthurus), pinfish (Lagod       on rhomboides), and
                                    pigfish (Orthopristis chrysoptera).L-

                                    Changes in food habits with size have been noted.         Hildebrand
                                    and Schroeder (1928) examined the stomach contents of 15 red
                                    drum from Chesapeake Bay (30-1,075 mm) and reported that the
                                    small fish fed principally on Gammarus and Mysis and the
                                    larger ones on shrimp.     Bass and Avault (1975) reported that
                                    fish <15 mm SL fed primarily on zooplankton, fish 15-75 mm SL
                                    fed mostly on small bottom invertebrates and young of other
                                    fish, and fish >75 mm SL ate decapods (crabs and shrimp) and
                                    fishes.   Inglis (1959) examined fish 30-100 mm and found that
                                    about 80% contained fish and 10% contained amphipods.
                                    Overstreet and Heard (1978) found that penaeid and palaemonid
                                    shrimps occurred in a higher percentage of fish <500 mm SL,
                                    whereas blue crabs, the stomatopod Squilla empusa, and fishes
                                    were most important in larger fish.       Yokel (1966) also found
                                    that red drum ate proportionately more crabs as they grew
                                    larger, with fish diminishing in importance as food for the
                                    largest red drum.

                         16 W. Foster. 1970. Life history aspects of the red drum, Sciaenops
                           ocellata. Progress Report to Sport Fishery Research Foundation.

                                                                                                 17

                           Dietary items  indicate that red drum feed over sandy to muddy
                           bottoms   from both shallow      and   moderately    deep    water.
                           Grassbeds are  also an important feeding area for preadult red
                           drum.   Most feeding takes place in the early morning or
                           evening.   Red drum have been observed "tailing" in shallow
                           marsh areas, rooting about with heads lowered and tails
                           occasionally out of water (Yokel 1966; Overstreet and Heard
                           1978).

                           Growth rates have been reported for red drum in the laboratory
                           (Arnold et al. 1977; Roberts, Morey et al. 1978; Holt, Godbout
                           and Arnold 1981; Lee et al. 1984), in ponds and raceways
                           (Luebke and Strawn 1973; Colura et al. 1976; Trimble 1979;
                           Hein and Shepard 1980; McKee 1980; Crocker et al. 1981;
                           Hysmith et al. 1982), and in the wild (Matlock and Weaver
                           1979; Perret et al. 1980; Goodrich and Matlock 1983) and were
                           summarized in Swingle et al. (1983) (Table 5).        Growth rate
                           estimates for larvae and juveniles range from 0.04-1.7 mm/day.
                           However, the reliability and precision of some estimates are
                           questionable due to small sample sizes, inadequate procedural
                           detail, and absent, incomplete, or inappropriate statistical
                           analyses.    The general growth pattern indicated by the
                           reliable estimates is sigmoidal (Swingle et al. 1983).          Egg
                           diameter is 1 mm at spawning, and larvae are 2 mm at hatching
                           and grow 0.5 mm before yolk-sac depletion (Johnson et al.
                           1977). Larvae grow 0.2-0.5 mm/day, juveniles 0.7-1.7 mm/day,
                           and adults 0.5 mm/day (Swingle et al. 1983).

                     3.5   Behavior

                           Red drum migrate seasonally along the Atlantic coast (Yokel
                           1966).   Reports from fishermen and menhaden spotter pilots
                           indicate that red drum typically arrive at Cape Hatteras,
                           North Carolina between March and April, some entering Pamlico
                           Sound and others proceeding up the coast.           Red  drum are
                           expected about a week later at Oregon Inlet (40 miles north of
                           Cape Hatteras)  and three weeks to a month later in Virginia,
                           some entering   Chesapeake Bay.    Apparently in times of high
                           abundance and proper environmental conditions, red drum
                           averaging 13-14 kg were present along the New Jersey coast in
                           summer (May to October) (Welsh and Breder 1923).         Red drum
                           leave Virginia in most years by October and fall fishing along
                           the North Carolina coast starts in August and usually ends in
                           November (Yokel 1966). A preliminary tagging study in Pamlico
                           Sound and along the Outer Banks, North Carolina indicated
                           movement of some red drum (ry7-447 mm TL) out of the sounds
                           and south along the beaches  .    In a tagging study of red drum
                           (251-600 mm TL) in Georgia, 88.6% (70 fish) of the recoveries

                17 J. Ross, North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, Manteo, N.C.,
                  personal communication.

                                                                                                                                            F.-
                                                                                                                                            00

      Table 5. Published red drum growth rates (where necessary, standard lengths converted to total lengths using Harrington et
                 al. (1979); blanks indicate no estimates given) [from Swingle et al. 1983].

                        State                       Length of Initial
                         and            Growing      growing     size     Temperature Salinity        Growth rate
      Environment    reference          period       (days)     or age        (0/0        (0/00)      (mm TL/day)           Comments

      Laboratory     Florida            Not given     15+       Embryo         23           30          0.36       Found no significant
                     Roberts, Morey,                                                                               influence of stocking
                     et al. (1978)                                                                                 density (2, 10, and 20
                                                                                                                   embryos/liter) and food
                                                                                                                   density (1,5, and 10
                                                                                                                   rotifers/ml) on larval
                                                                                                                   growth using two-way
                                                                                                                   analysis of variance.

      Laboratory     Texas              Not given     14        Embryo         20         15-30         0.24       Found no significant
                     Holt, Godbout,                                            25         15-30         0.34       influence of temperature but
                     and Arnold                                                30         15-30         0.46       did find significant influ-
                     (1981)                                                                                        ence of salinity on larval
                                                                                                                   growth using two-way
                                                                                                                   analysis of variance.
      Laboratory     Texas              Not given    570        44 mm TL                                0.70-      Growth was 1.14 mm/day in
                     Arnold et al.                                                                      1.14       first 180 days and 0.70
                     (1977)                                                                                        mm/day in last 390 days; no
                                                                                                                   other details given.

      Laboratory     Texas              Not given     15        Larvae         24         30          17.74pg/day  Two growth periods; one
                     Lee et al.                                                28         30          30.25pg/day  extending from hatching
                     (1984)                                                                                        through depletion of yolk
                                                                                                                   sac, and other beginning at
                                                                                                                   onset of active feeding.
                                                                                                                   Growth in length and weight
                                                                                                                   was significantly greater at
                                                                                                                   28*C than at 24*C.

       Table 5. (continued)

                          State                      Length of Initial
                           and            Growing      growing     size     Temperature Salinity        Growth rate            Comments
       Environment     reference          period       (days)     or age        (0/0         (0/00)     (mm TL/day)

       Raceways       Texas              July-August 30           72 mm TL                  35�2           1.7        Analysis of covariance used
                      Crocker et al.     1979                                                  0           1.3        to test for differences in
                      (1981)                                                                                          growth between salinities,
                                                                                                                      but variance homogeneity
                                                                                                                      assumption apparently vio-
                                                                                                                      lated; conclusion of sig-
                                                                                                                      nificant difference is
                                                                                                                      questionable but growth rate
                                                                                                                      exceeded 1.0 mm/day regard-
                                                                                                                      less; 93% survival in both
                                                                                                                      treatments.

       Ponds           Alabama           Oct. 1976- 136-946        2 days                               Not given,    Disease problems rampant;
                       Trimble (1979) May 1979                                                          presented     data not statistically
                                                                                                        weight        analyzed; incomplete detail
                                                                                                        data only     on procedures used to esti-
                                                                                                                      mate size at stocking,
                                                                                                                      sampling techniques, and
                                                                                                                      growth in weight estimates.

       Ponds           Louisiana         Oct. 1978-     79        17-42 mm TL 19                        0.92          Based on 86 fish; a total
                       Hein and          Jan. 1979                              (avg)                                 die off occurred due to cold
                       Shepard                                                                                        temperature and low water
                       (1980)                                                                                         level.

       Ponds           Texas             Aug.-Nov.,     27-37     2-6 days                              1.02-1.66     No adjustments for stocking
                       Colura  et al.    1975                                                                         rate variations (156,000 -
                       (1976)                                                                                         880,000 larvae/ha); stocking
                                                                                                                      rate estimating procedures
                                                                                                                      not given; estimating proce--
                                                                                                                      dures for mean size at
                                                                                                                      stocking or harvest not
                                                                                                                      given; survival in ponds
                                                                                                                      very low ( 10%); few details
                                                                                                                      given.
                                                                                                                                               I.-
                                                                                                                                               110

      Table 5. (continued)

                        State                       Length of Initial
                         and             Growing     growing     size     Temperature Salinity        Growth rate
      Environment     reference         period       (days)     or age        (O/C)       (0/00)      (mm TL/day)            Comments

      Ponds           Texas             8 June         151     272-295 mm TL                          0.76-0.85    Estimating procedure not
      (received       Luebke and        6 Nov., 1972                                                               clearly defined; only 13%
      heated power    Strawn (1973)                                                                                mortality.
      plant effluent)

      Ponds           Texas             7 Nov.,      108-173 41 mm TL                                 0.66tO.O4    No significant influence
                      Hysmith et al.    1975 -                                                        (Fed)        of stocking density on
                      (1982)            28 April,                                                     0.35tO.O6    growth; significantly higher
                                                                                                      (Unfed)      growth in fish fed
                                                                                                                   artificial diet than in
                                                                                                                   those not fed; no indication
                                                                                                                   of reduced growth in winter;
                                                                                                                   few details on sampling
                                                                                                                   techniques.

      Power plant     Texas             Nov. 1975- Not given 366-837                                  0.49tO.O5    Based on 27 recaptured
      cooling lake McKee     (1980)     Nov. 1977                mm TL                                             tagged fish; growth rate (Y)
                                                                                                                   decreased  significantly with
                                                                                                                   increased  size at tagging,
                                                                                                                   according  to Y = 0.75925 -
                                                                                                                   0.00246 X   (X = SL mm at
                                                                                                                   tagging).

      Wild            Florida           1961-1965    Not         282-655 mm                           0.04-0.66    Data from   12 recaptured
                      Perret et al.               applicable                                                       tagged fish published by
                      (1980)                         TL                                                            Ingle et al. (1962), Topp
                                                                                                                   (1962), Beaumariage (1964),
                                                                                                                   and Beaumariage and Wittich
                                                                                                                   (1966).

      Table 5. (continued)

                       State                     Length of     Initial
                        and            Growing    growing        size   Temperature Salinity Growth rate
      Environment    reference         period     (days)        or age      (O/Q        0/oo) (mm TL/day)            Comments

      Wild           Texas            Nov. 1975-  Not         275-815 mm                       0.43tO.O8    Based on 110 recaptured
                     Matlock and      Sep. 1976 applicable                                                  tagged fish from Texas bays;
                     Weaver (1979)                TL                                                        no significant difference in
                                                                                                            growth among bays; no
                                                                                                            apparent change in growth
                                                                                                            with increased size at
                                                                                                            tagging but no statistical
                                                                                                            analyses conducted; data
                                                                                                            obtained from fishermen.

      Wild           Texas            June 1979   350         41 mm TL                         1.03tO.O5    Based on 48 recaptured
                     Goodrich and     May 1980                                                              stocked fish from St.
                     Matlock (1983)                                                                         Charles Bay; artificiallly
                                                                                                            reared juveniles stocked out
                                                                                                            of phase with wild fish so
                                                                                                            identifiable by size; fish
                                                                                                            grew through two summers in
                                                                                                            first year so growth rate
                                                                                                            should be greater than wild
                                                                                                            fish.

                                                                                                                                    r%3
                                                                                                                                    ,.2

           22

                                  were within 25 km of the tagging sites. Five percent (4 fish)
                                  exhibited an average northward movement of 112.5 km and 5%
                                  (5 fish) exhibited an average southward movement of 112.2 km
                                  (Pafford 1981; Music and Pafford 1984).       Beaumariage (1969)
                                  reported that 91.2% of the red drum recovered during five
                                  Schlitz tagging programs in Florida did not move significantly
                                  from their release locations.

                                  Tagging studies in Gulf of Mexico estuaries have indicated
                                  little movement of subadult red drum.      More than 85% of the
                                  recaptured red drum from tagging studies in Florida bays moved
                                  <10 km f rom the tagging site (Ingle et al. 1962; Topp 1963;
                                  Beaumariage and Wittich 1966; Beaumariage 1969).      Simmons and
                                  Breuer (1962) reported little intrabay movement of red drum
                                  from Aransas Bay, Texas southward.         Other Texas tagging
                                  studies have indicated broad random movements within bays
                                  (Heffernan 1973) with little movement out of bays in which
                                  tagged (Osburn et al. 1982).     Some movement from the bays to
                                  the Gulf along the Texas coast has been noted in fall, with a
                                  return in spring    (Pearson 1929; Gunter 1945; Miles 1950).
                                  Immature red drum have been caught in the Gulf surf zone
                                  (Simmons and Hoese   1959; Heffernan 1973) which indicates that
                                  not all juveniles enter, or remain in, the bay nursery
                                  grounds.   Red drum  tagged in inshore waters of Louisiana and
                                  Mississippi were recaptured inshore (Adkins et al. 1979;
                                  Overstreet 1983).

                                  A Mississippi tagging study (Overstreet 1983) and observations
                                  by commercial fishermen and menhaden spotter pilots suggest
                                  that after leaving the estuaries large red drum undertake
                                  extensive migrations in the Gulf of Mexico. There appears to
                                  be a general migration along the Gulf coast from off Alab
                                  in April toward the Breton Island and Cameron areas of
                                  Louisiana, and by September or October the schools disappear
                                  offshore, presumably to spawn. A few spent fish appear along
                                  the beaches in October and November. An individual 810 mm SL
                                  long, migrated 778 km westward after 752 days and 769 mm SL
                                  long fish moved eastward at least 316 km within 399 days
                                  (Overstreet 1983). The longest reported migration in the Gulf
                                  of Mexico was from Texas to Tampa Bay (Simmons and Breuer
                                  1976).

                                  Carr and Chaney (1976) traced movements of a red drum with an
                                  ultrasonic transmitter attached to its caudal peduncle, in the
                                  Intracoastal Waterway in Florida.      All movement, both north
                                  and south, was against the tidal flow, and the fish entered
                                  numerous side creeks and moved into a deep hole in a creek at
                                  nightfall.

                             3.6 Contaminants

                                  Red drum were included in a survey of trace elements in
                                  fishery resources (Hall et al. 1978). Muscle and liver tissue

                                                                                               23

                            from red drum from the North and South Atlantic and Gulf of
                            Mexico were analyzed for the occurrence of 15 elements.       No
                            interpretative comments were provided.

                            Trace metal poisoning was indicated as the possible cause of
                            death of a group of approximately 100 large (7-18 kg) red drum
                            in the Indian River System, Florida between June 14 and July
                            2, 1980.   High levels of copper, zinc, arsenic, chromium,
                            cadmium, and mercury were found in the liver and/or gills, and
                            lesions in the gills resembled those from fish subjected to
                            experimental copper poisoning (Cardeilnac et al. 1981).
                            Commercial fishermen report that larff kills of red drum have
                            occurred several times in this area.

                            A survey of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in selected
                            finfish species determined that the mean level of PCBs in five
                            red drum from Texas was 0.03 ppm (range:        0.02-0.04 ppm).
                            This level is far below existing (5 ppm) or proposed (2 ppm)
                            maximum permissible levels in foodfish (Gadbois and Maney
                            1983).

                            Rabalais et al. (1981) investigated the effects of oil on red
                            drum eggs and larvae from an oil spill in the Bay of Campeche
                            which reached the south Texas coast.     High larval mortality
                            resulted when larvae were placed in mixtures of oil and water.
                            When eggs were placed in oil-contaminated water from Port
                            Aransas jetties, over half of the hatched larvae had skeletal
                            anomalies.

                 4.   POPULATION

                      4.1   Structure

                            The age/size structure of red drum populations is largely
                            unknown.  Length-at-age estimates for the Gulf of Mexico and
                            Atlantic coast vary considerably (Tables 6 and 7) and some are
                            probably overestimates because of failure to consider time of
                            annulus formation, gear selection bias, recaptured tagged fish
                            size data reliability, small sample sizes, and unverified age
                            determination techniques (Swingle et al. 1983).

                            Length frequency, scale, and otolith techniques have been used
                            to age red drum (Pearson 1929; Gunter 1945; Miles 1950, 1951;
                            Simmons and Breuer 1962; Theiling and Loyacano 1976; Rohr
                            1980; Wakefield and Colura 1983; Music and Pafford 1984). The
                            length frequency method is generally only useful for the first

                 18 R. Williams. Florida Department of Natural Resources, St. Petersburg,
                   Florida, personal communication.

                                                                                                                                       N-)
         Table 6. Published total length-at-age estimates for red drum. (Where necessary, standard lengths converted to total
                    lengths using TL = 12.870 + 1.177 SL (Harrington et al. 1979); blanks indicate no estimates given)
                    [modified from Swingle et al. (1983)].

                                                                                                                      Age
                                                                          AGE   - YEARS                           determination
         Location                Reference            1       2      3      4       5      6      7       8          method

         Fernandina, Fla.        Welsh and                          390-
                                  Breder (1923)                     590                                           Scales

         Chandeleur              Rohr (1980)         363     545    670    757     816    858    886     906      Otoliths
          and Mississippi
          Sounds, La.

         Central coast, Tex.     Pearson (1929)      300     530    630    750     840                            Length frequency

         Central coast, Tex.     Pearson (1929)      420     520    720    780     830                            Scales

         Laguna Madre, Tex.      Pearson (1929)      350     540    640    740                                    Length frequency

         Aransas Bay, Tex.       Miles (1950)        395                                                          Length frequency

         Aransas Bay, Tex.       Miles (1951)        390-    601    660-                  875    925     975-
                                                     435            710                                  11000    Otoliths

         Upper Laguna            Simmons and         325                                                          Length frequency
          Madre, Tex.             Breuer (1962)

         Central coast, Tex.     Simmons and                 540    760                                           Tag recapture
                                  Breuer (1962)

         Galveston Bay, Tex.     Wakefield and       274     453    571    650                                    Scales
                                  Colura (1983)

         Matagorda Bay, Tex.     Wakefield and       252     409    548    634     694                            Scales
                                  Colura (1983)

         Lower Laguna            Wakefield and       290     462    565                                           Scales
          Madre, Tex.             Colura (1983)

           Table 7. Empirical and back calculated total lengths for red drum collected in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

                                                                                                                      Annuli
           Location          Reference           Method          Sex                              1         2        3       4        5       6

           South           Theiling and          otoliths        Combined
            Carolina        Loyacano (1976)                     *Mean length at capture          585      731      825       849     891     849
                                                                 Number                           15        11       3         3      26

           Georgia         Music and Pafford     scales          Combined
                            (1984)                               Mean length at capture          474      718      776
                                                                 Back calculated length          403      653      746
                                                                 Number                           24        8        1

                                                                 Males
                                                                 Mean length at capture          475      711      776
                                                                 Back calculated length          435      656      746
                                                                 Number                             9       5        1

                                                                 Females
                                                                 Mean length at capture          541      731
                                                                 Back calculated length          412      645
                                                                 Number                           12        3

           Florida                               otoliths        Combined
            East Coast                                          +Back calculated length          436      606      695       746
                                                                 Number                          328      153        34        8

           *SL converted to TL by TL       12.870 + 1.177 SL (Harrington et al. 1979)

           +Fork length

           I
            M. Murphy, Florida Department of Natural Resources, St. Petersburg, Florida, personal communication.

        26

                               few years of life. Problems with using scales and otoliths to
                               age red drum include circuli disconformities, closely spaced
                               annuli, and intermittent summer and winter annuli on scales,
                               and spawning checks on otoliths, particularly for fish older
                               than age III or IV (Rohr 1980; Music and Pafford 1984).

                               Mean empirical lengths and back-calculated lengths for red
                               drum from South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida ageing studies
                               are presented in Table 7.     The sizes shown are sizes at the
                               annulus, not at the birthdate. A Florida study validated the
                               first three rings on otoliths as annual rings.          The first
                               annulus forms at 14-17 months, and then annually for at least
                               the next two years. The regression of fork length on otolith
                               radius was not linear when all age groups were included, but
                               was linear for fish with four or fewer annuli. For older fish
                               the rate of increase in fork length per unit increase in
                               otolith ' radius declined.    The fork length (FL) - otolith
                               radius (OR) relation for fish   2with four o1r9 fewer annuli was:
                               FL = 26.54 + 311.65 OR (mm) (r    = 0.8475).

                               Back-calculated lengths for red drum in Florida were similar
                               to Georgia fish at first annulus, but smaller at successive
                               annuli.   The sample size in the Georgia study was small (33
                               fish) and the method of age determination was not validated.
                               Lengths presented by Theiling and Loyacano, (1976) for 62 red
                               drum confined to a saltwater marsh impoundment in South
                               Carolina were mean lengths at capture and therefore were
                               greater than back-calculated lengths.      The ageing method was
                               not validated in that study. Bearden (1967) reported that red
                               drum impounded in a brackish water pond in South Carolina
                               averaged 368 mm at age 1, 521 mm at age II, and 660 mm at age
                               III, but the method of age determination was not reported. A
                               major research need for red drum is the development of a
                               uniform method of age determination throughout the range.

                               Von Bertalanffy growth equation parameters were estimated f      26
                               red drum in South Carolina (Swingle et al. 1983), Florida,
                               Louisiana (Rohr 1980), and Texas (Swingle et al. 1983;
                               Wakefield and Colura 1983) (Table 8).      Swingle et al. (1983)
                               based their estimates for South Carolina and Texas on data
                               from Theiling and Loyacano (1976) and Pearson (1929),
                               respectively, using Rafail's (1973) technique.

                               Numerous equations for the red drum length-weight relationship
                               have been published for the Gulf (Boothby and Avault 1971;
                               Luebke and Strawn 1973; Bass and Avault 1975; Harrington et
                               al. 1979; Hein et al. 1980; McKee 1980; Overstreet 1983) and
                               Atlantic coasts (Theiling and Loyacano 1976; Music and Pafford

                     19, 20 M. Murphy, Florida Department of Natural Resources, St.
                           Petersburg, Florida, personal communication.

           Table 8. Estimates of von Bertalanffy growth parameters for red drum.

           Area                          Source                     L- (mm TL)                  K                    t0

           South Carolina                Swingle ?t al.                 945                 0.449                  -0.324
             (impounded marsh)              (1983)

           Florida                            (2)                      1,043                0.42                   -0.149
             (Mosquito Lagoon/
             Upper Indian River)

           Florida                            (2)                       993                 0.46                     0.029
             (Tampa Bay area)

           Louisiana                     Rohr (1980)                    950                 0.37                   -0.33
             (Chandeleur and
             Mississippi Sounds)

           Texas                         Swingle st al.                1,068                0.295                    0.144
                                            (1983)

           Texas                         Wakefield and Colura           717                 0.52                   -0.01
             (Lower Laguna Madre)           (1983)

             (Matagorda Bay)                                            835                 0.35                   -0.02

             (Galveston Bay)                                            804                 0.41                   -0.01

           IBased on data from Theiling and Loyacano (1976).
           2M. Murphy and R. Taylor, Florida Department of Natural Resources$ personal communication.
           3Based on data from Pearson (1929).

                                                                                                                                                 rQ
          Table 9. Published standard length-weight relationships for red drum [Music and Pafford (1984) and Harrington et al.                   00
                      (1979) are total length-weight relationships]. Weight is in g and length in mm, except cm for Theiling and
                     Loyancano (1976). [from Swingle et al. (1983)].

                                                                                                                                   Calculated
                                                                                                                                   weight (g)
                                                                                             Length                                of 200 mm
                State                 Area                    Reference                 N    range          Log a           b      SL fish

          South Carolina        Marsh Impoundment       Theiling and Loyacano          54   Not given     -1.29596      2.7403       186
                                                        (1976)
          Georgia               Estuaries               Music and Pafford (1984)      103   32-1099       -4.220        2.722        ill

          Mississippi           Mississippi Sound       Overstreet (1983)              480  143-965       -4.7358       3.0053       151

          Louisiana             Coastal marsh           Boothby and Avault             286  240-940       -4.42161      2.83284      125
                                near Hopedale           (1971)

          Louisiana             Salt marsh near         Bass and Avault                568     8-183      -7.2052       4.1913       275
                                Caminada Pass           (1975)

          Louisiana             Southeastern            Hein et al. (1980)             308   14-1135      -5.1197       3.0523         80
                                coast

          Louisiana             Bays and gulf           McKee (1980)                    23  483-921       -3.435        2.54         257

          Texas                 Heated ponds in         Luebke and                      47  283-411       -4.69         2.97         139
                                Galveston Bay           Strawn (1973)
                                system

          Texas                 Cooling lake near       McKee (1980)                    30  319-720       -3.939        2.71         198
                                Corpus Christi; at
                                tagging

          Texas                 Bays and gulf           McKee (1980)                    45  312-885       -4.058        2.75         186

          Texas                 Nine bays               Harrington et al.             8319   49-814       -5.085        3.041        158
                                                        (1979)

                                                                                              29

                           1984) (Table 9).   Differences in the regression coefficients
                           may be due to sample sizes, length ranges, maturity, and time
                           of sampling.    Perret et al. (1980) concluded that the
                           length-weight relationships of Boothby and Avault (1971),
                           Luebke and Strawn (1973), Theiling and Loyacano (1976),
                           Harrington et al. (1979) were similar although no statistical
                           analysis was conducted.

                     4.2   Abundance, density, mortality, and dynamics

                           Commercial landings data have been collected from fish dealers
                           in each state since 1880; from 1880 to 1927, the survey was
                           conducted at approximately five year intervals; from 1927 to
                           1956, annual surveys were conducted; and since 1956, data,has
                           been collected on a monthly basis.     It should be noted that
                           commercial statistics, when biased, tend to be underestimated,
                           due to failures in reporting which are inherent in their
                           collection.  Landings data may reflect changes in effort and
                           market preferences and are not necessarily indicative of
                           trends in stock abundance.

                           Atlantic coast landings of red drum have always been lower
                           than Gulf of Mexico landings (Figure 2). The highest recorded
                           landings for the Atlantic coast were 788 mt in 1945, compared
                           with 1,594 mt in the Gulf of Mexico for the same year.        The
                           highest reported landings in the Gulf were 2,410 mt in 1976.
                           Highest landings on the Atlantic coast in recent years
                           occurred in 1980 (200 mt).

                           Landings of red drum at the northern extreme of the range have
                           declined since the 1930s (Table 10).      No red drum landings
                           have been reported for New York since 1942. A total of 93 mt
                           of red drum were landed in New Jersey from 1926 through 1935,
                           while only 21 mt were caught in the decade ending in 1945.
                           Since 1945 there has been only one commercial landing of red
                           drum (<I mt) in New Jersey in 1951.

                           Similar declines in landings have apparently taken place along
                           the coast to the south of New Jersey with the exception of the
                           east coast of Florida (Table 10) (Figure 3).    Delaware annual
                           landings have never exceeded I mt and were recorded for only
                           six years between 1926 and 1978.    Maryland red drum landings
                           have never exceeded 7 mt and only sporadic landings (<I mt)
                           have been recorded since 1959. Virginia landings were highest
                           in 1950 (83 mt) and did not exceed 9 mt over the past 20
                           years, except in 1965 (42 mt) and 1983 (22 mt).        Red drum
                           landings in South Carolina and Georgia have fluctuated widely
                           and parallel each other.    Highest landings in South Carolina
                           were from 1887 to 1908 (23-50 mt), 1936 to 1940 (38-54 mt),
                           and 1950 to 1956 (5-52 mt) .    South Carolina landings of red
                           drum ranged from <1-6 mt from 1969 to 1982. Georgia landings

         30

                             .8-                        ATLANTIC OCEAN
                             6-
                             4-

                             2
                             0
                       0                                                               [fill
                       0

                       cn    26-
                       M
                             24-
                             22-
                             20-          GULF OF MEXICO
                             18-
                             16-                                                  If
                             14-
                             12-                                                    -7
                             10-
                             8-
                             6-          L
                             4-
                             2-
                                                     III I, p 11 1 111 1, 111.. 1. 111 11. 111-1
                              1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980
                                                     YEAR

                             Figure 2.  U.S. commercial landings of red drum for the
                                        Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico, 1930-1983.

                                                                                                                                                                                              31

                                  Table 10. Commercial landings of red drum by state, 1887-1983
                                                         (metric tons).

                                                                                                                                                              Florida
                                                New           New                                                       NorIh      South                        East
                                         Year   York      Je  rsey    Delaware       Maryland       Virginia       Carolina       Carolina       Georgia        Coast        Total

                                         1887      -          -            -               -              -             59             25            9                           93
                                         1888      -          -            -               -              -             64             23            10              -           97
                                         1889      -          -            -               -              -             234            41            15              78          368
                                         1890      -          -            -               -              -             99             40            18              78          235
                                         1897      -          -            -               -              -             81             50            11              107         249
                                         1902      -          -            -               -              -             65             46            16              52          179
                                         1908      -          -            -               -              -             156-           49            69              371         645
                                         191       -          -            -               -              -             45+                                          168         214
                                         1923                                                                           111            14                            55          181
                                         1925                                              2              57                           -                             -           59
                                         1926                 6            1               -              -             -              -                             -           a
                                         1927      -          -            -                                            45             3                             74          123
                                         1928      -          -            -               -              -             108            2             3               92          205
                                         1929      -          12           1               1              4             89             5             2               98          212
                                         1930      -          29           -               7              16            66             4             2               39          163
                                         1931      -          2                            5              10            39             1             2               52          111
                                         1932      -          22                           6              11            39             1             1               21          101
                                         1933      -          4                            3              23            -              -             -               -           31
                                         1934      -          -                            3              24            60             2             1               65          155
                                         1935      -          18                           2              16            -              -             -               -           36
                                         1936      -          -            -               2              Is            114            47            23              106         307
                                         19 37                5            -               1              20            200            54            17              37          748
                                         1938                 2            -               1              61            241            47            12              50          414
                                         1939                 2            -               2              33            172            38            9               79          335
                                         1940                 1            -               1              30            61             39            5               84          221
                                         19 41                -            -               1              18            -                            -               -           19
                                         1942                 7            -               1              7                                          -               -           15
                                         1943                 2            -               -              -                                          -               -           2
                                         1944                                              1              15            -              -             -               -           16
                                         1945                 1            -                              16            102            22            5               642         788
                                         1946                 -            -                              II            -              -             -               -           11
                                         1947                                                             3:                                                                     36B
                                         1948                                                             1                                                                      1
                                         1949                                                             35            -              -             -               -           35
                                         1950                                              1              83            91             15            9               86          285
                                         1951                                              2              34            83             52            9               60          240
                                         1952                              1               -              21            101            31            6               52          212
                                         1953                                                             9             129            25            6               58          227
                                         1954                                              2              18            121            5             6               63          215
                                         1935                                              -              17            61             30            3               44          155
                                         1956                                                             9             14             26            1               48          98
                                         1957                                              -              11            63                           -               49          123
                                         1958                                              1              16            8                                            46          71
                                         1959                                                             5             2                                            59          76
                                         1960                                                             13            36                                           59          108
                                         1961                                              -              5             41                                           52          99
                                         1962                              -               -              3             28                           -               68          99
                                         1963                              -               -              1             32             -             -               61          94
                                         1964                              -               -              2             46             5             -               54          107
                                         1965                              -                              42            32             -             -               66          140
                                         1966                                                             1             16                           1               69          88
                                         1967                                                                           6                                            73          80
                                         1968                                                                           5                            2               75          82
                                         1969                                                                           2                            1               54          58
                                         1970                                                                           3                                            67          71
                                         1971                                                                           8              1             1               37          47
                                         1972                                                             3             20             1             1               58          83
                                         1973                                                             3             32                           1               76          112
                                         1974                                                             7             64             1             1               62          105
                                         1975                                                             9             97             6             5               38          155
                                         1976                                                             8             76             1             3               48          136
                                         1977                                                                           9                            2               47          59
                                         1978                                                             1             10             2                             48          61
                                         1979                                                             1             58             1                             43          102
                                         1980                                                                           110            2             1               87          200
                                         1981                                                                           42                                           118         161
                                         1982                                                             1             24             1                             63          89
                                         1983                                                             22            100            1                             45          168

                                         -Not reported
                                         *Less than I metric ton
                                         +Includes black drum

                32

                                           Table 10. (continued)

                                                         Florida
                                                            West
                                           Year             Coast           Alabam               Mississippi               Louisiana                 Texas               Total
                                           18:7               -                                         64                     131                    456            -651
                                           18 a             25                   -                      75                     131                    429                   660
                                           1889             178                  29                     84                     143                    483                   916
                                           1890             208                  25                     91                     154                    503                   981
                                           1897             107                  97                     90                     211                    519                ':' 25
                                           1902             501                  32                     42                     201                    408                1 184
                                           1908             276                  69                     ill                    325                    594                1,375
                                           1918             452                  10                     53                     257                    607                1,379
                                           1923             635                  7                      80                     302                    399                1,422
                                           1925               -                  -                      -                        -                        -                   -
                                           1926               -                  -                      -                        -                        -                   -
                                           1927             352                  25                     108                    252                    567                1,304
                                           1928             404                  22                     94                     197                    468                1.185
                                           1929             450                  48                     59                     202                    424                1,183
                                           1930             425                  47                     55                     152                    396                1.076
                                           1931             424                  28                     45                     168                    392                1,057
                                           1932             326                  20                     34                     128                    375                   883
                                           1933               -                  -                      -                        -                        -                   -
                                           1934             396                  30                     33                     223                    717                1,399
                                           1935               -                  -                      -                        -                        -                   -
                                           1936             421                  15                     40                     158                    434                1,068
                                           1937             430                  30                     56                     204                    433                1.154
                                           1938             459                  15                     48                     237                    390                1,150
                                           1939             412                  14                     75                     315                    213                1,030
                                           1940             294                  12                     25                     83                     120                   534
                                           1941               -                  -                      -                        -                        -                   -
                                           1942               -                  -                      -                        -                        -                   -
                                           1943               -                  -                      -                        -                        -                   -
                                           1944               -                  -                      -                        -                        -                   -
                                           1945             587                  Ito                    30                     270                    589                1,594
                                           1946               -                                         -                        -                        -                   -
                                           1947                                  -                      -                        -                        -                   -
                                           1948                                  71                     25                     115                    282                   493
                                           1949             758                  51                     35                     218                    236                1,298
                                           1950             428                  7                      24                     207                    257                   923
                                           1951             417                  20                     14                     174                    108                   733
                                           1952             293                  25                     19                     149                    114                   600
                                           1953             239                  21                     28                     124                    232                   644
                                           1954             341                  9                      28                     123                    327                   828
                                           1955             342                  9                      26                     156                    224                   757
                                           1956             346                  22                     32                     185                    291                   877
                                           1957             303                  5                      25                     160                    229                   721
                                           1958             285                  9                      30                     222                    272                   816
                                           1959             314                  8                      32                     222                    437                1,013
                                           1960             371                  4                      Is                     194                    320                   907
                                           1961             385                  11                     24                     302                    280                1,002
                                           1962             593                  6                      35                     257                    317                1,209
                                           1963             439                  9                      27                     212                    311                   998
                                           1964             317                  9                      23                     142                    203                   693
                                           1965             364                  2                      15                     214                    242                   836
                                           1966             293                  3                      17                     242                    362                   916
                                           1967             225                  4                      44                     297                    349                   918
                                           1968             321                  7                      98                     336                    420                1,182
                                           1969             266                  23                     45                     355                    493                1,181
                                           1970             303                  16                     32                     358                    720                1,429
                                           1971             321                  15                     27                     329                    904                1,595
                                           1972             383                  35                     25                     404                    666                1,513
                                           1973             433                  78                     39                     538                    762                11850
                                           1974             541                  54                     40                     652                    872                2,159
                                           1975             345                  34                     33                     618                    962                1,992
                                           1976             411                  30                     43                   1,004                    921                2,410
                                           1977             383                  30                     74                     651                    432                1,570
                                           1978             408                  39                     299                    553                    391                1,690
                                           1979             338                  39                     88                     480                    313                1,258
                                           1980             371                  24                     9                      329                    506                1,239
                                           1981             513                  17                     30                     408                    278                1,248
                                           1982             361                  31                     18                     661                        -              1 071
                                           1983             350                  27                     11                     872                                       1:260

                                           -Not reported
                                           *Less than I metric ton
                                           +Includes black drum

                                                                                                  33

                             ranged from 9-69 mt between 1887 and 1908, 5-23 mt from 1936
                             to 1940, 1-9 mt from 1950 to 1956, and <1-5 mt from 1966 to
                             1982. Florida and North Carolina contribute the most to east
                             coast landings of red drum.       North Carolina landings were
                             highest in 1938 (241 mt) and have fluctuated between 2 and 129
                             mt since 1950. Florida landings peaked at 642 mt in 1945 and
                             have not fluctuated greatly since 1950, ranging from 37-118 mt
                             through 1983.

                             Recreational fishery statistics are available from National
                             Marine.Fisheries Service salt-water angling surveys conducted
                             at five-year intervals from 1960-1970 (Clark 1962; Deuel and
                             Clark 1968; Deuel 1973), regional surveys in 1974 and 1975,
                             and annual surveys since 1979 (Anonymous 1980; Anonymous in
                             press).   Caution should be exercised in interpreting or
                             comparing the results of these surveys (Anonymous 1980).
                             First, estimated catches in the 1960-1970 national surveys and
                             1974-1975 regional surveys are subject to considerable
                             statistical variability.      Second,   although   the    sampling
                             procedures were similar for the 1960-1970 surveys, they were
                             considerably different from the 1974-1975 sampling procedures.
                             In addition, all of these surveys relied on the fisherman's
                             ability to identify the species caught and to recall the
                             numbers and average weight of each species caught, resulting
                             in overestimates of the catch.          The magnitude of the
                             overestimation is not known.       The sampling design of the
                             1979-present surveys is significantly different from previous
                             surveys, including both a household survey and creel census.
                             Although the 1979 survey results were published (Anonymous
                             1980), they are presently being corrected to correspond with
                             1980 census figures.      The 1960-1970 and 1980-1982 survey
                             results are presented here (Tj@les 11 and 12); however, 1981
                             and 1982 data are preliminary.

                             The  estimated    recreational catch     of  red   drum    exceeds
                             commercial red drum landings.     The total estimated Atlantic
                             coast recreational catches of red drum exceeded commercial
                             landings by factors of 162 in 1960, 53.3 in 1965, 85.9 in
                             1970, 2.7 in 1980, 2.1 in 1981, and      4.9 in 1982.     Although
                             the   1960-1970   Salt-Water   Angling    Surveys   resulted    in
                             overestimates of the catch, the results of the recent annual
                             surveys are generally underestimates (Anonymous 1980).

                             The estimated weight of the recreational catch of red drum on
                             the Atlantic coast (17,491 mt) exceeded the Gulf coast catch
                             (14,941 mt) in 1960, although twice as many fish were caught
                             in the Gulf. Both the number and weight of red drum caught in
                             the Gulf exceeded the Atlantic coast catch in all other survey

                  21 M. Holliday, National Marine Fisheries Service, Resource Statistics
                    Division, Washington, D.C., personal communication.

         34

                                            20                DELAWARE
                                            ot

                                            20                MARYLAND
                                            01

                                              -I
                                            80-
                                                               VIRGINIA
                                            60-

                                            40-

                                            20-

                                            0!

                                            120-            NORTH CAROLINA
                                            100-

                                            80-

                                       u)   60-

                                       0    40-

                                            20-

                                       CC

                                       UJ   60-
                                              -             SOUTH CAROLINA
                                            40-

                                            20-

                                            0
                                            201                 GEORGIA
                                            120]        FLORIDA EAST COAST
                                            100

                                            80-

                                            60-

                                            40-

                                            20-
                                            0 50     55  1.11 60 .1.1 65  76 . . . . 75' 1 T 1861 1
                                                                YEAR
                              Figure 3. U.S. commercial landings of red drum on the Atlantic
                                            coast by state, 1950-1983.

                                                                                                35

                            years.  Total Atlantic coast landings declined from 1960 to
                            1970, whereas Gulf coast landings increased over the same
                            period. Although results of the 1980 survey are not directly
                            comparable with previous surveys, they are lower by factors of
                            11.2 and 4.5 on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts,       respectively,
                            raising the question of data set reliability.         Preliminary
                            results of the 1981 and 1982 surveys indicate      a decline in
                            recreational catch in 1981 and 1982 on both coasts.

                            Results of the salt-water angling surveys indicate that
                            recreational red drum landings in the Middle Atlantic region
                            (New York to Virginia) declined drastically from 5,176 mt in
                            1960 to 582 mt in 1965 and 38 mt in 1970 (Clark 1962; Deuel
                            and Clark 1968; Deuel 1973) (Table 11).      Red drum were not
                            reported for the Middle Atlantic subregion in the 1980 survey;
                            however, the category "drums" (8.5 mt) may include red drum.
                            Preliminary results of the 1981 and 1982 surveys indicate that
                            92,000 red drum (223 mt) were caught in 1981 and 52,000 (no
                            weight reported) in 1982 in the Middle Atlantic region (Table
                            12).

                            South Atlantic (North Carolina to Florida) catches declined
                            from 1960 (12,331 mt) to 1970 (6,065 mt).          In 1980 the
                            estimated recreational catch was 545 mt. Preliminary results
                            of the 1981 and 1982 recreational surveys indicated that 115
                            mt were caught in 1981 and 438 mt in 1982 in the South
                            Atlantic.

                            Although the results of the 1983 recreational survey are not
                            yet available there is some indication that red drum abundance
                            is increasing.   In 1983 recreational fishermen reported that
                            small red drum (0.7-1.1 kg) returned in unprecedented numbers
                            to Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, Pamlico Sound, North
                            Carolina, and the surf from Assateague Island to Portsmouth
                            Island. These fish were apparently the result of an excellent
                            spawn during the fall of 1981.    Commercial mullet netters in
                            Pamlico Sound reported large numbers of small red drum (10-13
                            cm) in their nets in May and June, 1983, indicating that
                            perhaps the fall spawn in 1982 was also a good one (The Year
                            of the Puppy Drum. 1983).

                            There  are   no   mortality   estimates   for   Atlantic    coast
                            populations of red drum.     Instantaneous natural (M), total
                            (Z), and fishing (F) mortality rates have been calculated for
                            various estuarine populations in the Gulf of Mexico (Matlock
                            and Weaver 1979; Swingle et al. 1983; Green et al. in prep.).
                            Fishing mortality in most Gulf estuarine areas is high
                            relative to natural mortality (Swingle et al. 1983).

                            There are no estimates of maximum yield per recruit for
                            Atlantic coast populations of red drum.    Juvenile populations
                            are growth overfished in Texas and possibly severely growth
                            overfished along the west central coast of Florida, based on
                            estimates of instantaneous fishing mortality (F) from tagging
                            studies (Swingle et al. 1983).

                                                                                                                                            M

         Table 11. Red drum recreational catch and effort statistics from National Marine Fisheries Service Salt-Water Angling
                      Surveys, 1960 - 1970.

                                            Catch                 Number of              Average                   Catch per angler
               Survey                           I  Weight         Successful              Weight                                Weight
              Year                 Number                kg        Anglers ...          lb      kg          Number          lb        kg
                                    -------------- THOUSANDS --------------
               1960 1
         Middle Atlantic                456    11,400    5,171          35              25.0    11.4         13.0          325.7      147.9
         South Atlantic              4,527     27,160   12,320        157               6.0     2.7          28.8          173.0      78.5
         Gulf of Mexico             10,294     32,940   14,941        447               3.2     1.5          23.0           73.7      33.5

               TOTAL                15,277     71,500   32,432        639               4.7     2.1          23.9          111.9      50.8
               1965 2
         Middle Atlantic                196      1,281      581         68              6.5     2.9            2.9          18.8        8.6
         South Atlantic              4,099     15,171    6,881        151               3.7     1.7          27.1          100.5      45.6
         Gulf of Mexico              6,900     28,288   12,831        558               4.1     1.9          12.4           50.7      23.0

               TOTAL                11,195     44,740   20,294        777               4.0     1.8          14.4           57.6      26.1
               1970 3
         Middle Atlantic                 97         83       38          8              0.9     o.4          12.1           10.4        4.8
         South Atlantic              4,883     13,358    6,059        164               2.7     1.2          29.8           81.5      37.0
         Gulf of Mexico             13,184     53,045   24,061        692               4.0     1.8          19.1           76.7      34.8

               TOTAL                18,164     66,486   30,157        864               3.7     1.7          21.0           77.0      34.9

          Clark 1962

         2
          Deuel and Clark 1968
         3Deuel 1973

                                                                                                       37

                 Table 12. Red drum recreational catch statistics from National Marine
                             Fisheries Service Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics Surveys,
                             1980-1982.

                                                      Catch                              Average
                 Survey                                       Weight                     Weight
                  Year                      Number         lb       kg                 lb       kg

                                    --------------   THOUSANDS --------------
                 19801

                 South Atlantic               419         1,202     545                2.9    1.3

                 Gulf of Mexico             4,893        11,865   5,382                2.4    1.1

                 19812

                 Middle Atlantic                92         491      223                5.3    2.4

                 South Atlantic                166         254      115                1.5    0.7

                 Gulf of Mexico             4,194         8,631   3,915                2.0    0.9

                 19822

                 Middle Atlantic                51          -        -                 -       -

                 South Atlantic                516         964      438                1.8    0.8

                 Gulf of Mexico             7,304        16,169    7,334               2.2    1.0

                 1Anonymous in press.
                 2Preliminary data, M. Holliday, National Marine Fisheries Service, Resource
                  Statistics Division, Washington, D.C., personal communication.

                 -Not reported.

        38

                            4.3   Community ecology

                                  Juveniles may spend the first four or five years within
                                  estuaries (Pearson 1929) where they compete with other
                                  estuarine species for food. Food habits and distributions of
                                  red drum were reviewed in earlier sections of this report.
                                  Young-of-the-year red drum (15-245 mm TQ in North Carolina
                                  estuaries were frequently collected with the bay anchovy
                                  (Anchoa mitchilli), inland silverside (Menidia beryllina),
                                  Atlantic silverside (M. menidia), sheepsheTd minnow (Cyprindon
                                  variegatus),    stripe@- mullet       ('Mugil cephalus),     menhaden
                                  (Brevoortia tyrannus , spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), croaker
                                  (Micropogonias    undulatus),     mojarras    (Gerreidae),      gobies
                                  (Gobiidae),    summer flounder     (Pa W ichthys dentatus),        and
                                  southern flounder (P. lethostigma).--

                                  Adult red drum occur offshore, often under schools of blue
                                  runner    (Gar-anx   chrysos)    and    little   tunny     (Euthynnus
                                  alletteratus) in the Gulf of Mexico. When near shore, schools
                                  of red drum often occur near black drum, Atlantic tarpon, and
                                  pompano (Overstreet 1983).

                      5.    EXPLOITATION

                            Matlock (1980) reviewed the history and management of the red drum
                            fishery.

                            5.1 Commercial Exploitation

                                  5.11  Equipment and trends in equipment

                                        Red drum are harvested in a mixed species f ishery by a
                                        variety of gear types, including haul seines (common and
                                        long), fish trawls, pound nets, gill nets (drift, anchor,
                                        set or stake, and runaround), hand lines, trammel nets,
                                        and shrimp trawls (Matlock 1980). Purse seine catches of
                                        red drum have been reported in the Gulf of Mexico since
                                        1977.

                                        The percentage of Virginia landings of red drum taken by
                                        gear type is presented in Table 13. Pound nets and fish
                                        trawls have accounted for the major portion of the
                                        landings   since    1977.    Haul   seines    and   gill    nets
                                        contributed significantly prior to 1977 and again in
                                        1983.

                       22 Unpublished data, North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries,
                         Morehead City, N.C.

                                                                                                39

                                 Gill nets have accounted for 31-57% of red drum landings
                                 since 1979 in North Carolina (Table 14). Common and long
                                 haul seine catches have declined since 1977 and f ish
                                 trawl and pound net catches have fluctuated.             The
                                 incidental catch by shrimp trawls ranged from 0.5-15.2%
                                 of North Carolina red drum landings from 1978 to 1983.

                                 Red drum are mainly caught by shrimp trawls, hand lines,
                                 and gill nets in South Carolina (Table 15).      Hand lines
                                 have accounted for 100% of Georgia landings since 1978
                                 (Table 16).

                                 Runaround gill nets  are the predominant gear in Florida,
                                 accounting for 65.5-83.6% of the red drum catch (Table
                                 17). Red drum are also caught by hand lines, haul seine,
                                 and trammel nets.

                           5.12  Areas fished

                                 Red drum are caught in both estuaries and oceanic waters
                                 along the Atlantic coast, but the majority of the
                                 commercial catch is made in estuaries          (Table 18).
                                 Juvenile red drum, which remain in or near estuaries for
                                 the greater part of their early years, are the basis for
                                 the  commercial fishery.      Estuarine   areas generally
                                 receive a high level of effort with gear which catch red
                                 drum, such as trammel nets, gill nets, haul seines, pound
                                 nets, and trot lines (Yokel 1966).        Although Florida
                                 landings by area of capture were fft available, most red
                                 drum are caught in the estuaries.

                           5.13  Seasons

                                 In Virginia red drum are harvested from May until October
                                 and are most abundant during spring and fall (Hildebrand
                                 and Schroeder 1928). Red drum are taken year-round from
                                 North Carolina to Florida.      Largest catches in North
                                 Carolina are made in fall (October-November).      In South
                                 Carolina more red drum are landed in late spring and
                                 summer and in Georgia in late summer and fall. Highest
                                 landings in Florida occur in fall and early winter.

                 23 E. Snell, National Marine Fisheries Service Resource Statistics
                   Office, Miami, Florida, personal communication.

        40

                   Table 13. Percentage of Virginia red drum landings by gear type, 1970-1983.

                          Common                                              Sea      Fyke &    Total
                            Haul       Fish      Pound    Gill     Hand     Scallop     Hoop    Landings
                   Year   Seines     Trawls      Nets     Nets    Lines     Dredges     Nets       (kg)

                   1970   100.0                                                                      45

                   1971   100.0                                                                    318

                   1972     54.2        1.7      30.5     13.6                                  2,676

                   1973                17.7      25.8     56.5                                  2,812

                   1974       5.7       1.3      79.0     14.0                                  7,121

                   1975     19.9        3.1      49.5     27.5                                  8,890

                   1976     35.3        5.8      22.6     34.2                                  8,618

                   1977                33.3      33.3              33.3                            136

                   1978                14.3      61.9                          23.8                953

                   1979                73.7      26.3                                              862

                   1980                25.0      50.0     25.0                                     181

                   1981                50.0      50.0                                                91

                   1982                56.5      36.9       1.8     2.3                  2.4       854

                   1983     17.8        2.0      42.1     37.9      0.2                         18,516

                   Source:   Fishery Statistics of   the  United States, 1970-1977; NMFS Landings
                             Data, 1978-1983.

                                                                                                              41

                 Table 14. Percentage of North Carolina red drum landings by gear type,
                              1970-1983.

                         Common      Long                                                          Total
                          Haul       Haul       Fish       Pound    Gill      Shrimp    Hand      Landings
                 Year    Seines     Seines     Trawls      Nets     Nets      Trawl     Lines        (kg)

                 1970     9.3        32.0        9.3        8.0     41.3                           3,402

                 1971    28.5        18.0        8.1       21.5     23.8                           7,802

                 1972    30.5        12.8        2.8       45.2       8.6                         19,459

                 1973    25.9        30.0       11.1       14.2     18.8                          31,888

                 1974    21.0        45.9        0.8       17.9     14.2        T                 64,455

                 1975    17.3        31.3       30.8       11.4       9.2                         96,434

                 1976     8.4        45.6        4.6       13.3     28.1                          76,294

                 1977    17.3        59.9        2.5         T      19.3                           8,936

                 1978     0.9        19.4       65.3                13.9       0.5                 9,798

                 1979                34.0        2.0        7.3     49.5       7.2                57,561

                 1980     6.9        30.3       17.6        1.3     32.2       3.7         T      106,745

                 1981     0.5        11.9       15.1       38.8     31.0       2.7                42,375

                 1982     2.0        13.2       26.4        6.4     46.2       5.7         T      23,841

                 1983     4.1          9.5       5.5        8.7     57.0       15.2      0.1      99,732

                 T - Less than 0.1 percent.

                 Source: Fishery Statistics of the United States, 1970-1977; NMFS Landings
                            Data, 1978-1983.

         42

                     Table 15. Percentage of South Carolina red drum landings by gear type,
                                  1970-1983.

                                                                                           Fyke &        Total
                                Shrimp       Hand         Haul       Gill                   Hoop       Landings
                     Year       Trawls       Lines      Seines       Nets       Spears      Nets           (kg)

                     1970       100.0                                                                      181

                     1971         53.8         7.7        38.5                                             590

                     1972       100.0                                                                      544

                     1973       100.0                                                                      272

                     1974                    60.9                    39.1                                1,043

                     1975         36.4       52.3                      6.8       4.5                     1,996

                     1976                      8.3                   91.7                                  544

                     1977         7.7                                53.8                    38.5          590

                     1978                    100.0                                                       1,939

                     1979         7.5                                92.5         -                        801

                     1980         48.9                               51.1                                1,863

                     1981                                  18.8      81.2                                  367

                     1982         0.7        11.9                    86.7        0.7                     1,011

                     1983         2.1          5.2          8.8      83.8                                1,031

                     Source: Fishery Statistics of the United States, 1970-1977; NMFS Landings
                                Data 1978-1983.

                                                                                                             43

                 Table 16. Percentage of Georgia red drum landings by gear type, 1970-1983.

                                                                                                 Total
                                    Hand                 Shrimp              Gill               Landings
                 Year               Lines                Trawls              Nets                 (kg)

                 1970                                     100.0                                    227

                 1971                33.3                  66.7                                    544

                 1972                                     100.0                                 1,406

                 1973                                      42.4              58.6               1,497

                 1974                41.9                  58.1                                 1,406

                 1975                16.0                  84.0                                 4,536

                 1976                54.8                  43.8                 1.4             3,311

                 1977                78.0                  12.0              10.0               2,268

                 1978               100.0                                                          149

                 1979               100.0                                                          424

                 1980               100.0                                                          677

                 1981               100.0                                                          118

                 1982               100.0                                                          114

                 1983               100.0                                                          511

                 Source: Fishery Statistics of the United States, 1970-1977; NMFS Landings
                            Data, 1978-1983.

        44

                   Table 17. Percentage of Florida East Coast red drum landings by gear type,
                                1970-1977.

                             Common       Runaround                                             Total
                              Haul           Gill        Hand       Trammel       Cast         Landings
                   Year      Seines          Nets        Lines        Nets        Nets           (kg)

                   1970       6.5            76.2        16.6         0.7                       66,587

                   1971                      83.6        13.7         2.7                       36,696

                   1972       3.0            74.5        22.4                     0.1           58,241

                   1973       3.7            79.9        15.6         0.9                       75,523

                   1974       8.5            65.5        24.1         1.9                       62,278

                   1975       7.1            68.5        23.3         1.1                       37,784

                   1976       6.3            72.1        21.0         0.6                       48,081

                   1977       8.4            70.1        19.6         1.8                       46,947

                   Source: Fishery Statistics     of the United States,    1970-1977.

           Table 18. Annual commercial catch of red drum (kg) by state and water area for the Atlantic coast, 1968-1983 and
                       percent caught in the estuaries.

                            Virginia                    North Carolina                   South Carolina                    Georgia
           Year     Ocean       Estuary       %     Ocean      Estuary       %     Ocean      Estuary        %     Ocean     Estuary        %

           1972       590        2,087      78      7,864      11,641      60       412           109      21       242       1,297      84

           1973       499        2,313      82     14,881      16,871      53           0         281      100      508       1,191      77

           1974       408        6,713      94     16,070      48,538      75       140           844      86       730         611      45

           1975      1,225       7,666      91     49,533      47,643      49       632          4,980     89       272       4,232      94

           1976       635        7,802      92     12,639      63,682      83          0         1,160     100      689       2,595      79

           1977        45            91     67      2,858        6,078     68        58           296      84       253       1,964      89

           1978       363          590      62      6,985        2,812     29       431          1,531     78         0         149     100

           1979       635          227      26     12,084      45,303      79        60           741      93         0         424     100

           1980        45          136      75     32,275      78,049      71       874           989      53         78        599      88

           1981        45            45     50     12,648      29,727      70        23           344      94         0         118     100

           1982       483          371      43     13,964        9,877     41       235           775      77         0           75    100

           1983      1,836       39,814     96     31,451      64,766      67        15           293      95         0         511     100

           Source: NMFS   Landings Data, 1972-1983.

                                                                                                                                              Ln

         46

                            5.14 Fishing operations and results

                                       There are no data on f ishing      effort, selectivity, or
                                       yield for the Atlantic coast.       Matlock et al. (1977)
                                       reported on trends in red drum     abundance in Texas bays
                                       influenced by commercial netting   activities. Catch rates
                                       for red drum in areas closed to commercial netting were
                                       about twice as high as those from areas open to netting.
                                       The effect of commercial netting was local; netting
                                       removed red drum from restricted areas but did not
                                       appreciably affect adjacent non-netted areas.

                                       In 1984 the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission banned
                                       the use of plastic baits on trotlines because these baits
                                       were thought to be selective for small (<500 mm) red
                                       drum.   Matlock et al. (1979) compared the size of red
                                       drum landed by commercial fishermen before (1972-1974)
                                       and after (1974-1978) the ban with the size of fish
                                       collected during Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
                                       trammel net surveys to determine the effect of the ban on
                                       either the commercial catch or fish availability.          Red
                                       drum landed by commercial fishermen were significantly
                                       larger after the ban than before.          It appears that
                                       plastic baits are selective for small red drum and that
                                       the ban did affect  the size of red drum caught.

                                 5.15  Incidental catches

                                       Red drum were not reported in several studies of fish
                                       caught incidental to shrimp trawling (Anderson 1968;
                                       Knowlton 1972; Wolff 1972; Keiser 1976).            Commercial
                                       landings statistics indicate.that the percentage of North
                                       Carolina landings from shrimp trawls ranged from <0.1% in
                                       1974 to 15.2% in 1983 (Table 14).         In South Carolina
                                       shrimp trawl landings ranged from 0.7-100.0% of the total
                                       (Table 15).    Prior to 1978, 12.0-100.0% of Georgia red
                                       drum landings were caught by shrimp trawls (Table 16).

                                       Red drum have been reported as a bycatch from shrimp and
                                       fish trawls in the Gulf of Mexico (Swingle et al. 1983).
                                       Red drum landings in Alabama were predominantly by shrimp
                                       trawling, accounting for 48-95% of the landings.             In
                                       Mississippi red drum were taken as incidental bycatch in
                                       the industrial groundfish fishery and the shrimp trawl
                                       fishery.   The percentage of red drum landings taken by
                                       fish and shrimp trawls averaged 8 and 15%, respectively,
                                       from 1968 through 1976.      Shrimp trawls accounted for a
                                       very minor portion of red drum landings in Louisiana and
                                       Texas; generally <1% of annual red drum landings.

                                                                                                 47

                                  In the Gulf of Mexico large red drum have been caught by
                                  purse seiners f ishing for blue runner.     Red drum school
                                  below blue runner and when the net is set red drum are
                                  harvested as a bycatch (Overstreet 1983).      From July 1,
                                  1983 to April 16, 1984, 225.4 mt (497,000 lb) of red drum
                                  were landed in observed purse seine catches from the
                                  northern Gulf of Mexico (off the Mississippi River
                                  delta).   The catches generally consisted of large red
                                  drum (7-8 44   and were caught 18-22 km offshore at depths
                                  of 18-24 m.

                       5.2 Recreational Exploitation

                            5.21  Equipment and trends in equipment

                                  Red drum are caught by bottom fishing, jigging, and
                                  casting from shore, as well as bottom fishing, casting,
                                  live-lining and trolling from boats (Freeman and Walford
                                  1974, 1976a, b, c, d).     Baits include soft or shedder
                                  crabs, shrimp, clams, squid, and cut mullet, spot,
                                  herring or menhaden, as well as artificial lures such as
                                  spoons,  jigs, weighted bucktails, feathers, plugs, and
                                  streamer flies.    Red drum are also harvested by gill
                                  netting and gigging for home consumption.          In South
                                  Carolina 94% of the gill-net fishermen who fished in 1978
                                  fished recreationally (Moore 1980).

                            5.22  Areas fished

                                  The recreational fishery for trophy red drum (>18 kg)
                                  which exists in the South Atlantic has been primarily a
                                  surf fishery along the outer beaches of barrier islands
                                  (Freeman and Walford 1974, 1976a, b, c, d; Osborne 1981;
                                  Wongrey 1981;    Ogle 1982; Arrington 1.983; Music and
                                  Pafford 1984).   Small red drum (<8 kg) are caught in the
                                  estuaries from   Chesapeake Bay to Florida (Freeman and
                                  Walford 1976a,  b, c, d; Smith and Moore 1979; Osborne
                                  1981; Music and  Pafford 1984).

                   24 W. Fable, National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries
                    Center, Panama City Laboratory, Panama City, Florida, personal
                    communication.

         48

                                       The numbers of red drum caught by principal area of
                                       fishing in each region in 1965, 1970, and 1980 are
                                       presented in Table 19.    The salt-water angling surveys
                                       indicated that 88% of the red drum caught in the Middle
                                       Atlantic region in 1965 were caught in sounds, rivers,
                                       and bays, whereas in 1970 only 47% were caught in
                                       estuarine waters. More red drum (59%) were caught in the
                                       ocean in the South Atlantic in 1965, but in 1970 and 1980
                                       79% and 92%, respectively, were caught in sounds, rivers,
                                       and bays.   In the Gulf of Mexico more red drum were
                                       caught in sounds, rivers, and bays than in the ocean in
                                       all survey years.

                                 5.23  Seasons

                                       The fishing season for red drum is all year from Georgia
                                       to southern Florida (Freeman and Walford 1976c, d). From
                                       Altamaha Sound to Fort Pierce Inlet, best fishing for
                                       small fish is August to October inshore, and for large
                                       fish, March to May and November to January offshore.
                                       Best fishing for small red drum from St. Lucie Inlet to
                                       southern Florida is from April to August and from August
                                       to November for large ones.      Adult red drum generally
                                       remain in coastal waters through the coldest months and
                                       during late summer move offshore, presumably to spawn.

                                       Most red drum are caught from mid-March or early April to
                                       early December between False Cape, Virginia and Georgia.
                                       The best fishing for large fish runs from late March to
                                       early June and for small fish from late September to
                                       November (Freeman and Walford 1976b).    Good surf fishing
                                       along the North Carolina coast is from March to June and
                                       October to November (LaMonte 1951; Osborne 1981; Ogle
                                       1982). The fishing season in Chesapeake Bay is from late
                                       April or May to November.     The best fishing for large
                                       fish is from mid-May to mid-June and from August to
                                       October for small fish (Freeman and Walford 1976a).      The
                                       red drum fishing season from False Cape, Virginia to
                                       Delaware Bay extends from April or May to November and
                                       the best fishing is from May-June and September-October
                                       (Freeman and Walford 1974).

                                  5.24 Fishing operations and results

                                       Red drum catch data by month and year on the Eastern
                                       Shore of Virginia were reported for 1955 to 1965. Catch
                                       rates were never high but relative highs occurred during
                                       1957 and 1962 at 0.14 fish per man-hour. More fish were

          Table 19. Number of red drum caught by U.S. anglers in each region in 1965, 1970, and 1980 by principal area and
                      method of fishing.

                                                 Principal area
                                                   of fishing                                      Principal method of fishing
                                                             Sounds,                    Private        Party        Bridge,
                                                             rivers,                      or            or           pier,         Beach
          Survey                                             and                        rented        charter          or            or
          year        Region                   Ocean          bays                       boat           boat         jetty          bank

                                               ---------------------------------------     THOUSANDS --------------------------------
          1965 1      Middle Atlantic              24           172                          7           35            126             28

                      South Atlantic           29436         1,663                      1,497           235          1,965           402

                      Gulf of Mexico           1,332         5,568                      4,841           769            890           400

          1970 2      Middle Atlantic              51            46                         46           -              -              51

                      South Atlantic           10032         3,851                      3,839           276            287           481

                      Gulf of Mexico           5.9060        8,124                      7,655          1,586         1,694         2,249

          1980 3      South Atlantic               26           313                        318           -               43            58

                      Gulf of Mexico              467        3,005                      4,513            51            388           431

          1Deuel and Clark 1968
          2Deuel 1973
          3Anonymous in press

                                                                                                                                             4@b

          50

                                        landed during May and September, but catch rates were
                                        highest for April, June, and September.        A low of 0.01
                                        fish per man-hour occurred in 1959 (Richards 1965).           A
                                        1963 sport fishery survey in the Cape Canaveral area of
                                        Florida found that catch per unit effort was highest in
                                        October and April north of Cape Canaveral, and highest in
                                        April to the south (Anderson and Gehringer 1965).         Catch
                                        per unit effort data (number and weight) for red drum
                                        caught in the Gulf of Mexico was summarized by Perret et
                                        al. (1980).

                                        The National Marine Fisheries Service salt-water angling
                                        surveys, 1960-1970, indicated that the number of red drum
                                        per angler declined in all regions from 1965 to 1970
                                        (Table 11).      The average reported weight of fish
                                        decreased in both the Middle and South Atlantic regions
                                        from 1960 to 1970, but increased in the Gulf of Mexico
                                        from 1960 to 1965 and decreased slightly from 1965 to
                                        1970.

                                        Davis (1980) reported that recreational fishermen caught
                                        96% of the red drum landed in Everglades National Park
                                        from 1972 through 1977.      The mean annual yield of red
                                        drum from park waters was 0.17 kg per acre, producing
                                        mean annual harvests of 105,370 kg from 1972 through
                                        1977.   In the past 20 years, there has been a shif t in
                                        age structure toward larger, mature f ish, with upward
                                        trends in catch rates and a marked reduction in the
                                        year-to-year variability of catch rates, possibly due to
                                        changes in environmental conditions (Davis 1980).

                        6.   SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS

                             6.1   Values

                                   Cato (1981) reviewed the economic values and uses of the
                                   sciaenid fisheries in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.
                                   A comparison of dockside value of commercial landings of
                                   important sciaenids revealed that red drum ranks behind
                                   weakfish, croaker, spotted seatrout, and spot.            Red  drum
                                   prices increased steadily in the Gulf of Mexico and have       been
                                   consistently higher there except in 1969, 1980 and             1982
                                   (Figure 4).    Atlantic coast prices increased steadily        from
                                   1960 but dropped sharply in 1983.

                                   Current  prices have increased while deflated prices           have
                                   remained fairly stable.     Red drum exvessel'prices vary      from
                                   state to state.    In 1982 prices varied from 23-79 cents per
                                   pound in North Carolina and the east coast of Florida,
                                   respectively (Table 20).

                                                                                           51

                         0.70-

                                         Gulf of Mexico
                                  0---o Atlantic coast
                         0.60-

                    z
                    U-1
                    U
                         0.50-

                    z

                         0.40-
                                                                       0     1     1
                                                                            1     0
                                                                           00
                    U.J
                    0-                                                   10,
                         0.30-
                    LLI

                         0.20-                    o- 0.0e         1P
                                           &P-0,V"
                              0 0,0 -0,
                         0.10- *10

                            1960        1965       1970        1975       1980
                                                  YEAR

                     Figure 4. Dockside price of red drum for the Atlantic coast and
                                Gulf of Nexico, 1960-1983.

         52

                    Table 20. Unadjusted exvessel price of commercially-caught red drum on the
                                 Atlantic coast by state, 1960-1982.

                                                  North           South                         Florida
                    Year       Virginia         Carolina        Carolina        Georgia        East Coast

                               -------------------------    (DOLLARS/POUND)  -------------------------

                    1960         .046             .081              -           .150             .147

                    1961         .092             .081            .250          .150             .137

                    1962         .084             .081              -             -              .145

                    1963         .084             .068              -             -              .147

                    1964         .086             .089            .141            -              .183

                    1965         .105             .119              -             -              .177

                    1966         .083             .103            .100          .123             .187

                    1967         .085             .097              -           .135             .184

                    1968         .110             .069              -           .222             .152

                    1969         .060             .085            .157          .190             .193

                    1970         .060             .085            .157          .190             .193

                    1971         .037             .100            .181          .209             .208

                    1972         .079             .122            .268          .202             .228

                    1973         .113             .111            .258          .210             .271

                    1974         .150             .111            .258          .210             .271

                    1975         .100             .101            .286          .299             .322

                    1976         .083             .128            .283          .329             .340

                    1977         .110             .136            .335          .414             .372

                    1978         .063             .114            .345          .649             .448

                    1979         .084             .172            .264          .553             .532

                    1980         .150             .194            .262          .643             .555

                    1981         .240             .201            .418          .709             .541

                    1982         .139             .234            .602          .669             .791

                    -None caught

                    Source: Fishery Statistics of the United States, 1960-1977; NMFS Landings
                              Data, 1978-1982.

                                                                                                         53

                          6.2  Employment

                               There is little available information on employment in the
                               fisheries for red drum which are mixed species fisheries. The
                               commercial fishery for coastal finfish in South Carolina is
                               primarily a part-time activity with few, if any, full-time
                               employees, primarily due to major commercial interest in the
                               shrimp, blue crab, and oyster fisheries (Smith and Moore
                               1979).

                          6.3  Participation

                               There is little specific information on participation in the
                               fisheries for red drum. Participation in South Carolina's gig
                               and gill net fisheries, both of which harvest red drum, has
                               increased greatly in the last decade. Gig licenses increased
                               225% from 1971-1972 (590) to 1977-1978 (1,910) and gill net
                               licenses increased 306% over the same time period (705 to
                               2,861) (Smith and Moore 1979). Davis (1980) examined changes
                               in the Everglades National Park red drum and spotted seatrout
                               fisheries 1958-1978.       The number of commercial fishermen
                               fluctuated     between    125   and   276    from   1963    to    1978.
                               Recreational fishing activity increased steadily from 58,000
                               angler-days in 1959 to 174,000 in 1965, fell slightly in the
                               late 1960s, reached another peak of about 160,000 angler-days
                               in 1973 and 1974, and fell again to less than 100,000
                               angler-days in 1977.

                               The 1960-1970 salt-water angling surveys indicate significant
                               growth of marine sport fisheries in the South Atlantic reg.
                                                                                                 pn.
                               The estimated nuWber of anglers increyed from 1.0 x 10 in
                               1960 to 1.7 x 10 in 1965 and 1.8 x 10 in 1970 (Clark 1962;
                               Deuel and Clark 1968; Deuel 1973).         Bearden. (1969) estimated
                               that there were 240,500 resident anglers in South Carolina in
                               1968. The number of resident South Carolina participants in a
                               1974 survey was estimated at 347,000 people (Mabrey et al.
                               1977).    Out-of-state participation appears to be an important
                               segment of South Carolina's sport fisheries.            An estimated
                               261,000 people from North Carolina and 56,000 from Georgia
                               fished in South Carolina in 1974 (Mabrey et al. 1977).

                          6.4  Processors and product forms

                               In South Carolina red drum are sold to either local wholesale
                               or retail markets.       Gill nets and hook and line were the
                               principal gears used     to take coastal finfish for market.          A
                               survey of licensed persons engaged in selling finfish
                               indicated that red       drum, spotted seatrout, and flounder
                               comprised only 7.2% of the total reported weight of finfish
                               sold (Smith and Moore 1979).

          54

                                  Commercial landings of red drum on the Gulf Coast are mostly
                                  sold in local markets as fresh in-the-round or gutted, with a
                                  small percentage sold as frozen and gutted, or as fresh or
                                  frozen fillets (Perret et al. 1980).

                             6.5  Import/export

                                  Imports of juvenile red drum from Mexico are substantial and
                                  have an impact on Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and perhaps
                                  other markets supplied from Texas and Louisiana landings.
                                  Imports increased from 1964 (45.1 mt) to 1969 (396.2 mt) and
                                  have since decreased (Table 21).     The decline in imports from
                                  the 1970s to the present is due to the development of seafood
                                  markets in Mexico, new fishing regulations in Mexico, and
                                  until recently, a declining U.S. dollar.          At their peak,
                                  imports accounted for 25% of the total U.S. supply of red
                                  drum.   Most imports are in-the-round and gutted.            Frozen
                                  fillets were imported between 1978 and 1981, and comprised
                                  from 12 (1981) to 29% of imports (1978) (Perret et al. 1980;
                                  Swingle  et al. 1983).

                                  Exports of red drum from the U.S. have occurred but
                                  statistical information is unavailable before 1981 when the
                                  National Marine Fisheries Service began inspecting drum
                                  exports (include red drum and black drum). Drum are exported
                                  to   Nigeria,   Turkey, and     probably   Egypt,   the   Mideast,
                                  Venezuela, and Taiwan.      The red drum exported are usually
                                  adult fish because of a market preference for large fish in
                                  the above countries and because it can be marketed at
                                  relatively low prices.        The product is shipped frozen
                                  in-the-round or is gutted (Swingle et al. 1983).

                             6.6  Gear conflicts

                                  In North Carolina gear conflicts may occur between the long
                                  haul seine fishermen and the pound net, crab and eel pot
                                  fishermen.   Abandoned, broken-off pound net stakes and pound
                                  net stakes left in place from season to season exclude long
                                  haulers from large areas, especially in Core Sound.        A very
                                  large increase in the number of crab and eel pot fishermen has
                                  resulted in ever increasing friction with haul seiners, who
                                  cannot haul in areas filled with pots.        Potters are mainly
                                  interested in shoal waters, which long haulers need only to
                                  bunt or harden up their seine (DeVries 1981).

                             6.7 Commercial-recreational conflicts

                                  Heffernan and Kemp (1980, 1982) reviewed the conflicts in the
                                  red   drum fishery, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico.

                                                                                                        55

                Table 21. U.S. imports and exports of red drum, 1964-1983 (from Swingle
                             et al. 1983).

                                                     Imports                               Exports a
                Year         Total           In-the-round         Frozen Fillets

                             ----------------------------  Metric Tons  ----------------------------

                1983         110.8                79.8                 30.9

                1982         128.5               115.9                 12.6                   -

                1981          65.5                57.5                   8.1                 997.9

                1980         162.3               135.2                 27.1                  N.A.

                1979         .164.1              133.2                 30.8                  N.A.

                1978         235.6               167.6                 67.9                  N.A.

                1977         254.3                N.A.                 N.A.                  N.A.

                1976         178.6                N.A.                 N.A.                  N.A.

                1975         182.9                N.A.                 N.A.                  N.A.

                1974         217.3                N.A.                 N.A.                  N.A.

                1973         335.6                N.A.                 N.A.                  N.A.

                1972         282.8                N.A.                 N.A.                  N.A.

                1971         272.0                N.A.                 N.A.                  N.A.

                1970         381.6                N.A.                 N.A.                  N.A.

                1969         396.2                N.A.                 N.A.                  N.A.

                1968         101.7                N.A.                 N.A.                  N.A.

                1967            4.0               N.A.                 N.A.                  N.A.

                1966          14.4                N.A.                 N.A.                  N.A.

                1965          49.4                N.A.                 N.A.                  N.A.

                1964          45.1                N.A.                 N.A.                  N.A.

                a     - includes red drum and    black drum

                -     - none exported

                N.A.  - not available

                Source: E. Barry, National Marine Fisheries Service, New Orleans, personal
                          communication; J. Dougherty, NMFS, St. Petersburg, personal
                          communication.

         56

                               Conservationists and recreational fishermen complained of
                               overharvest of f ish by commercial interest prior to 1900,
                               continuing to the present. State legislatures enacted various
                               regulations which closed portions of estuarine areas to the
                               use of nets and seines during seasonal periods with the intent
                               to protect spawning fish.     From the 1930s to the 1970s,
                               legislation was directed toward reducing commercial f ishing
                               pressure on bay stocks by imposing size limits, opening and
                               closing various bay and Gulf waters, and establishing gear
                               restrictions in relation to -mesh sizes, length of nets, and
                               their seasonal use.    Growing netting pressure and reported
                               declines in available stocks led to the prohibition of the use
                               of monofilament nets in Louisiana in 1977 and Texas in 1980.
                               The Texas legislature passed a bill in 1981 prohibiting the
                               commercial sale of Texas-caught red drum for two years. Davis
                               (1982) discussed management conflicts in Everglades National
                               Park and Matlock (1982) discussed conflicts between user
                               groups of red drum in Texas.    At the urging of recreational
                               fishermen in Florida regulations and legislation have been
                               introduced to ban gill netting for red drum; however, none of
                               it has passed.

                     7.   MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION

                          7.1  Regulatory measures

                               The fisheries for red drum have been conducted almost entirely
                               within the internal waters of the states and in the
                               territorial sea which extends 5.6 km (3 n mi) offshore on the
                               Atlantic coast. Therefore, management has been by individual
                               state regulation.   The State of Maryland passed a saltwater
                               angling license bill, May 22, 1984, for fishing in Maryland
                               tidal waters of Chesapeake Bay and tributaries and is the only
                               state on the Atlantic coast that requires saltwater anglers to
                               be licensed.   The monies collected by the license will be
                               dedicated for recreational fishing enhancement and anglers
                               will be given the opportunity to have input concerning the
                               content of the fisheries management program adopted by the
                               Maryland Department of Natural Resources.        The State of
                               Virginia is also considering a saltwater angling license.
                               Regulations and methods of promulgating them vary among states
                               and are summarized in Table 22.         The only regulations
                               specifically dealing with red drum are size limits in North
                               Carolina and Florida, and daily possession limits in Virginia
                               and North Carolina.

                               The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC)
                               administers a cooperative agreement with the National Marine
                               Fisheries Service (NMFS) entitled the Interstate Fisheries
                               Management Program (ISFMP). This program provides funding to

                                                                                                   57

                   Table 22. Synoptic overview of present state management systems.

                                                      Rhode
                                                      Island                  Connecticut

                   Administrative                  Rhode Island               Connecticut
                   organization                    Department of              Department of
                                                   Environmental              Environmental
                                                   Management                 Protection

                   Legislative                     Rhode Island               Connecticut
                   organization                    Marine Fisheries           Commissioner
                                                   Council                    Environmental
                                                                              Protection

                   Licenses                        Commercial                 Commercial

                   Size                            None                       None
                   restrictions

                   Limits                          None                       None

                   Gear                            None                       None
                   restrictions

                   Conservation                    None                       None
                   regulations

           58

                         Table 22. Continued

                                                                   New York

                         Administrative            New York State Department of Environmental
                         organization              Conservation

                         Legislative               New York Fish and Game Laws, Article 13
                         organization              Marine and Coastal Resources

                         Licenses                  Commercial
                                                   non-resident
                                                   beam and otter
                                                   trawl

                         Size                      None
                         restrictions

                         Limits                    None

                         Gear                      Trawl prohibited from Great South Bay,
                         restrictions              Moriches Bay, Shinnecock Bay; seasonally
                                                   in Peconic Bays. Gill nets restricted
                                                   from Peconic Bays; haul seines limited in
                                                   lengths in these same bays and cannot be
                                                   fished from midnight Thursday to 6:00 p.m.
                                                   Sunday. Nets and trawls may not be set in
                                                   western Long Island Sound Apr. 1 - Nov. 1.
                                                   Gill nets prohibited in central and
                                                   western Long Island Sound.

                         Conservation              None
                         regulations

                                                                                                 59

                 Table 22. Continued

                                           New Jersey               Delaware

                 Administrative       New Jersey Department         Division of Fish and
                 organization         of Environmental              Wildlife
                                      Protection, Division          Department of Natural
                                      of Fish, Game and             Resources and Environ-
                                      Wildlife, Marine              mental Control
                                      Fisheries Adminis-       d
                                      tration, Bureau of
                                      Marine Fisheries

                 Legislative          New Jersey Statutes,          Delaware State
                 organization         Title 23, Chapter 28          Legislature

                 Licenses             Fyke nets - $1, $4, $30       None
                                      Haul seines - $25
                                      Bait seines - $3
                                      (50' - 150')
                                      Gill nets -
                                        anchored - $13
                                        drift - $20
                                        run around - $20
                                      Pound nets    $ 25
                                                    $ 50
                                                    $100
                                      Otter trawl     $100
                                      Beam trawl    $100
                                      Purse seine     $100

                 Size                 None                          None
                 restrictions

                 Limits               None

                 Gear                 Trawls and purse              Trawls prohibited in
                 restrictions         seines restricted from        Delaware Bay. Gill nets,
                                      within 2 miles of coast-      fyke nets and seines
                                      line. Seasons for gill        allowed. Purse seines
                                      nets, fyke nets, haul         prohibited within 3 miles
                                      seines.                       of coast.

                 Conservation         None                          None
                 regulations

           60

                        Table 22. Continued.

                                                  Maryland                        Virginia

                        Administrative        Maryland Department            Virginia Marine
                        organization          of Natural Resources           Resources Commission

                        Legislative           Natural Resources              Marine Resources of
                        organization          Article, Annotated             the Commonwealth Code
                                              Code of Maryland               of Virginia of 1950,
                                              Title 4, Subtitle 1,           Title 28.1
                                              Title 08, Subtitle 02,
                                              Chapter 05 Fish

                        Licenses              Otter trawl - $100             Commercial
                                              Beam trawl - $100
                                              Fyke or hoop
                                              nets - $50
                                              Gill nets- <200 yds $100
                                                         >200 yds $200

                                              Recreational - $5
                                              in Chesapeake Bay

                        Size                  None                           None
                        restrictions

                        Limits                None                           No more than two
                                                                             <32" TL

                        Gear                  Trawling prohibited            Trawling prohibited in
                        restrictions          within I mile of               Chesapeake Bay. Pound
                                              Maryland shoreline in          net mesh <2" (s.m.) and
                                              Atlantic Ocean.                haul seine mesh <3"
                                              Numerous gear and area         mesh (s.m.) prohibited.
                                              restrictions.                  Trawling prohibited
                                                                             within 3-mi. limit from
                                                                             Cape Charles north to
                                                                             Maryland line in Sep.
                                                                             and Oct.

                        Conservation          Secretary of Natural           None
                        regulations           Resources has authority
                                              to adopt rules and
                                              regulations relating to
                                              taking, possession,
                                              transportation, exporting,
                                              processing, sale or ship-
                                              ment necessary to conser-
                                              vation.

                                                                                                 61

                  Table 22. Continued

                                                            North Carolina

                  Administrative                  North Carolina Department of Natural
                  organization                    Resources and Community Development,
                                                  Division of Marine Fisheries; Marine
                                                  Fisheries Commission

                  Legislative                     North Carolina Administrative Code,
                  organization                    Title 15, Chapter 3.

                  Licenses                        Vessels without motors,
                                                    any length, when used with other
                                                    licensed vessel - no license
                                                  Vessels, not over 18' - $1/foot
                                                  Vessels, over 18' to 38' - $1.50/foot
                                                  Vessels, over 38' - $3/foot
                                                  Non-resident vessels - $200 in addition
                                                                          to above fee
                                                                          requirement
                                                  Finfish processor - $100
                                                  Unprocessed finfish dealer - $50

                  Size                            14" TL minimum
                  restrictions

                  Limits                          No more than two >32" TL; in New Hanover
                                                  County, none >20 lbs.

                  Gear                            Trawling for finfish prohibited in internal
                  restrictions                    coastal waters. No purse seine for food
                                                  fish. Many specific net regulations for
                                                  areas and seasons.

                  Conservation                    Secretary, acting upon advise of Director
                  regulations                     of Marine Fisheries, may close area to
                                                  trawling if in coastal fishing waters,
                                                  samples become composed primarily of
                                                  juvenile finfish of major economic
                                                  important. No person shall remove red drum
                                                  from any boat hook, gaff, spear, gig, or
                                                  similar device.

            62

                          Table 22. Continued

                                                     South Carolina                    Georgia

                          Administrative        South Carolina Wildlife         Georgia Department of
                          organization          and Marine Resources            Natural Resources

                          Legislative           Section 50-5-20                 Georgia Code 27-4-110
                          organization

                          Licenses              Land and sell $25               Commercial fishing
                                                Commercial boat license          license (personal)
                                                  <18' - $20                     $10.25 for any sales of
                                                  >18' - $25                     catch
                                                Gill nets                       Nontrawler license
                                                  haul seines                    <18' - $5
                                                  $10/100 yds                    -@'18' - $5 + $.50/foot
                                                                                Trawler license - $50
                                                                                 for 18' + $3/additional
                                                                                 foot
                                                                                No license for seines
                                                                                 <300' unless catch is
                                                                                 sold.

                          Size                  None                            None
                          restriction

                          Limits                None                            None

                          Gear                  Seine mesh less than            Gill netting prohibited
                          restrictions            2k" prohibited                in Georgia waters. Seine
                                                Purse seining for food          mesh restrictions:
                                                  fish permitted in             minimum of 114" for seines
                                                  ocean greater than            less than 100'; minimum
                                                  300 yds from beach.           mesh size of 2Y'
                                                                                (stretched mesh) for
                                                                                100' - 300' maximum
                                                                                length.

                          Conservation          None                            None
                          regulations

                                                                                                   63

                   Table 22. Continued

                                                                  Florida

                   Administrative                  Marine Fisheries Commission
                   organization

                   Legislative                     Chapter 370, Florida Statutes; additional
                   organization                    220 state laws that apply on a local
                                                   level; all local laws will become Rules
                                                   of the Marine Fisheries Commission by
                                                   July 1, 1985.

                   Licenses                        License to sell:
                                                     Resident - $25 annually
                                                     Non-resident - $100 annually
                                                     Alien - $150 annually
                                                   Wholesale seafood dealer
                                                     Resident - $300 annually
                                                     Non-resident - $500 annually
                                                     Alien - $750 annually
                                                   Retail seafood dealer
                                                     Resident - $25 annually
                                                     Non-resident - $200 annually
                                                     Alien - $250 annually

                   Size                            12" FL minimum
                   restrictions

                   Limits                          None

                   Gear                            Purse seining and stop netting prohibited.
                   restrictions                    Numerous local gear and area restrictions.

                   Conservation                    None
                   regulations

            64

                                    the Atlantic coastal states to coordinate interjurisdictional
                                    fisheries management and develop fishery management plans
                                    (FMPs) for species occurring in the territorial sea.

                                    The Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MFCMA)
                                    provides for the conservation and exclusive management by the
                                    Federal government of all fishery resources within the United
                                    States Fishery Conservation Zone (FCZ).     The FCZ extends from
                                    the territorial sea to 370 km (200 n mi) from shore. Fishery
                                    management in the FCZ is based on fishery management plans
                                    developed by regional Fishery Management Councils (FMC).

                                    The National Park Service retains the authority to manage fish
                                    primarily through the establishment of coastal and nearshore
                                    national parks and national monuments such as Everglades
                                    National Park in Florida.

                              7.2   Habitat protection

                                    Red drum are dependent on estuaries for at least the first few
                                    years of lif e.  Larvae and juveniles are generally found in
                                    shallow waters, in areas not greatly affected by tides, with
                                    grassy or muddy bottoms and moderate salinities (Section 2.1).
                                    Yokel (1966) concluded that red drum abundance varied directly
                                    with estuarine size. States which have relatively high annual
                                    landings also have large estuaries.      North Carolina and the
                                    east coast of Flordia are the leading producers of red drum on
                                    the Atlantic Coast and they also have the largest estuaries of
                                    the states from North Carolina south.     There is considerable
                                    variation in this relationship, but the general trend supports
                                    the supposition of the importance of estuaries and shallow
                                    marine areas to the production of red drum (Yokel 1966).

                                    Davis (1980) suggested that changes in the red drum fishery in
                                    Everglades National Park 1972-1977, which included a shift in
                                    age structure toward larger, mature fish and increased catch
                                    rates, resulted from increased salinities from drainage
                                    control.    The Texas Department of Water Resources has
                                    ihvestigated the effects of freshwater inflow upon Texas bays
                                    and estuaries.   A comparison of annual harvest rates of red
                                    drum with seasonal freshwater inflows revealed a positive
                                    response between harvest and increased inflow in spring
                                    (April-June),   fall    (September-October),    and   late    fall
                                    (November-December).    High inflow in winter (January-March)
                                    and summer (July-August) was negatively correlated with catch
                                    rate (Anonymous 1982b).

                                    Estuarine    habitats    have    deteriorated    rapidly     since
                                    approximately 1940, mostly as a result of industrial and human
                                    population growth.    The National Estuary Study, completed in
                                    1970, indicated that 73% of the Nation's estuaries had been
                                    moderately or severely degraded (Gusey 1978, 1981).         Damage

                                                                                                 65

                            and/or destruction of estuaries has largely been by dredging
                            and filling for waterfront property, dredging of navigation
                            channels, construction of causeways and bridges, installation
                            of ports and marinas, alteration of freshwater flow, and
                            pollution.   Unfortunately the effects of habitat alterations
                            have rarely been quantified.

                            In recent years the coastal states have enacted coastal zone
                            management laws to regulate dredge and fill activities and
                            shoreline developement (Table 23).       The Federal government
                            also has some jurisdiction over the estuarine-marine habitat.
                            The Office of Coastal Zone Management (OCZM) has authority
                            through National Marine Sanctuaries, pursuant to Title III of
                            the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA).
                            The OCZM Estuarine Sanctuary program has designated Rookery
                            Bay in Collier County,.Florida, and the Apalachicola River and
                            Bay in Franklin County, Florida, as estuarine sanctuaries.
                            The OCZM also sets standards for approving and funding state
                            coastal   zone    management   programs.     The     Environmental
                            Protection Agency may provide protection to fish communities
                            through   the   granting   of   National   Pollutant     Discharge
                            Elimination System (NPDES) permits for the discharge of
                            pollutants into ocean waters, and the conditioning of those
                            permits so as to protect valuable resources.      The U. S. Army
                            Corps of Engineers has jurisdiction over the disposal of
                            dredged material, pursuant to both the Clean Water Act and the
                            MPRSA.   The Fish and Wildlife Service, under the Fish and
                            Wildlife Coordination Act, reviews and comments on proposals
                            for work and activities in or affecting navigable waters that
                            are sanctioned, permitted, assisted, or conducted by Federal
                            agencies.   The review focuses mainly on potential damage to
                            fish and wildlife, and their habitat.

                            The Envionmental Assessment Branch of the NMFS is required to
                            assess potential impacts on fishery resources of projects
                            submitted to the Corps of Engineers for permits, and to
                            recommend whether a project should be approved, denied, or
                            modified.   Fiscal year 1981 (October 1980 - September 1981)
                            was the first year NMFS quantified the cumulative acreage of
                            habitat involved in the Corps of Engineers permit program in
                            the Southeast Region of the United States.             NMFS made
                            recommendations on 1,380 permit applications involving 7,272
                            ha (17,969 acres); 18% were proposed for dredging, 36% for
                            filling, and 46% for impounding.       NMFS did not object to
                            alteration of 1,861 ha (4,598 acres), recommended against
                            altering 5,411 ha (13,371 acres), and recommended that 1,345
                            ha (3,324 acres) either be restored or modified from upland
                            habitat to mitigate the losses that were permitted. Thus, the
                            NMFS efforts conserved 6,756 ha (16,695 acres) of habitat
                            (Lindall and Thayer 1982).      NMFS is also involved in the
                            review of Congressionally authorized Federal projects.       NMF S
                            has adopted a new habitat conservation policy which will
                            enhance its overall role in habitat conservation from a
                            previously advisory role based primarily on the policies

                Table 23. Summary of state habitat protection regulations, Rhode Island to Florida.

                                   Administrative                   Legislative
                State              organization                     authorization                    Regulations

                Rhode Island       Rhode Island                     Chapter 279, Public              Permits required for
                                   Department of Environmental      Laws of 1971, Sect.   1,         coastal zone development,
                                   Management and Coastal           Title 46, General Laws           aquaculture, dredge and
                                   Resources Management             of Water and Navigation.         fill operations.
                                   Council                          Chapter 23 Coastal
                                                                    Resources Management
                                                                    Council.

                Connecticut        Connecticut Department           "The Coastal Management          Permits required to dredge
                                   of Environmental                 Act" Section 22-a-90             fill or construct
                                   Protection                       to 22a-96                        structures in both fresh
                                                                                                     and salt water. Permit
                                                                                                     required to work in
                                                                                                     regulated wetland areas.

                New York           Department of Environmental      Environmental Conservation       Regulates activities in and
                                   Conservation, Bureau of          Law Article 25, Tidal            adjacent to tidal wetlands
                                   Tidal Wetlands                   Wetlands Act, Part 661.          and requires permits for
                                                                    Land use regulations of          such activities.
                                                                    tidal wetlands.

                New Jersey         Department of Environmental      Wetlands Act of 1970             Regulates activities  in the
                                   Protection, Division of          NJSA 13:9A-1 et  seq.,           coastal zone and requires
                                   Coastal Resources                Coastal Area facilities          permits for such activities.
                                                                    Review Act NJSA 13:19-1   et
                                                                    seg., Waterfront Development
                                                                    Law, NJSA 12:5-3, Beaches
                                                                    and Harbors Bond Act of 1977
                                                                    PL 77-209, Shore Protection
                                                                    Legislation NJSA 12:6A-1

                 Table 23. (continued)

                                    Administrative                    Legislative
                 State              organization                      authorization                   Regulations

                 Delaware           Delaware Department               Sect. 1, Title 7,               Regulates use of wetlands
                                    of Natural Resources              Delaware Code,                  and their upland border
                                    and Environmental Control,        Chapter 66. Wetlands.           and provide penalties for
                                    Division of Environmental                                         violations.
                                    Control, Wetlands Section

                 Maryland           Maryland Department of            Natural Resources Article,      Regulates activities in
                                    Natural Resources, Tidewater      Code of Maryland                tidal wetlands areas.
                                    Administration; Maryland
                                    Department of Health and
                                    Mental Hygiene, Office of
                                    Environmental Programs

                 Virginia           Virginia Marine Resources         The Wetlands Act                Regulates alterations to
                                    Commission; County                Section 62.1-13.20.,            tidal marshes, sand and
                                    wetlands boards                   Code of Virginia                mud flats, subaqueous
                                                                                                      bottoms, and sand dunes.

                 North Carolina     North Carolina Department         NC Dredge and Fill Law          Requires permits to dredge
                                    of Natural Resources and          (GS 113-229), Coastal           or fill in or about
                                    Community Development,            Area Management Act             estuarine waters.
                                    Office of Coastal                 (CAMA) (GS 113A100)             Establishes areas of
                                    Management; Coastal Resources                                     environmental concern.
                                    Commission; Coastal Resources                                     Permits required for
                                    Advisory Council                                                  coastal zone development.

                                    Division of Marine Fisheries      North Carolina Administra-      Prohibits the use of bottom-
                                                                      tive Code, Chapter 3,           disturbing gears and severely
                                                                      Section .1400                   restricts or prohibits
                                                                                                      excavation and/or filling
                                                                                                      activities in nursery areas for
                                                                                                      young finfish and crustaceans.

                 South Carolina     South Carolina Coastal Zone       -Coastal Zone Management        Directs permit activities
                                    Managment Council                 and Planning Act                in areas of wetlands,
                                                                                                      beaches, and dunes.

                                                                                                                                      M .
                                                                                                                                      00

                 Table 23. (continued)

                                    Administrative                   Legislative
                 State              organization                     authorization                  Regulations

                 Georgia            Georgia Department of            Coastal Marshlands             Requires permits to dredge,
                                    Natural Resources,               Protection Act of 1970         fill, remove drain, or other-
                                    Coastal Resources Division,      (Gs. L. 1970, p. 939, 1.)      wise alter any,marshlands.
                                    Coastal Protection Section

                                                                     Shore Assistance Act of        Requires permits for a
                                                                     1979 (Gs. L. 1979, 1.)         structure, shoreline
                                                                                                    engineering activity, or
                                                                                                    land alteration in
                                                                                                    beaches, sand bars, and
                                                                                                    sand dunes in Georgia.

                 Florida            Florida Department               Chapter 253, Florida           Regulates dredge, fill, and
                                    of Natural Resources             Statutes                       structures on state sub-
                                                                                                    merged lands (below mean
                                                                                                    high water). Provides for
                                                                                                    acquisition of conservation
                                                                                                    lands and tidally influenced
                                                                                                    areas.

                                                                     Chapter 258, F.S.              Establishes aquatic pre-
                                                                                                    serves and regulates
                                                                                                    activities within preserves.

                                    Florida Department of            Chapter 403, F.S.              Permitting of activities
                                    Environmental Regulation                                        (including dredge and fill)
                                                                                                    which affect water quality.

                                    Florida Department of            Chapter 380, F.S.              Administer and set standards
                                    Community Affairs                                               for "Development of Regional
                                                                                                    Impact". Protects regional
                                                                                                    or statewide resources from
                                                                                                    poorly conceived development
                                                                                                    activities.

                                                                                            69

                           developed in response to the Fish and Wildlife    Rordination
                           Act and the National Environmental Policy Act         The new
                           policy will:  (1) ensure that habitat is fully considered in
                           a.11 of NMFS' programs and activities; (2) focus NMFS' habitat
                           conservation activities on species for which the agency has
                           management or protection responsibilities under the MFCMA, the
                           Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Endangered Species Act;
                           (3) lay the foundation for management and research cooperation
                           on habitat issues; and (4) strengthen NMFS' partnerships with
                           the states and the regional FMCs on habitat issues.

                      7.3  Stocking

                           Red drum, a highly sought game and f ood f ish, has been the
                           target of numerous mariculture experiments. Investigations on
                           grow out of red drum were initiated in 1947 and continued
                           intermittently for 20 years in South Carolina ponds tidally
                           stocked with wild fish (Lunz 1951, 1956; Bearden 1967).     The
                           red drum portion of the harvested crops was only 15 kg/ha/yr.
                           at maximum, but Bearden (1967) noted that the impounded red
                           drum averaged 860 g when I year old. In a more recent study,
                           South Carolina ponds yielded 52 kg/ha/yr of red drum with
                           year-old drum averaging 950 g and ranging from 800-1,070 g
                           (Theiling and Loyacano 1976).

                           Red drum, fed commercial feed or killed forage fish in Texas
                           ponds,, exhibited potential for higher yield and survival
                           during grow out. Luebke and Strawn (1973) reported that yield
                           for red drum reached 308 kg/ha with 96% survival and increase
                           in mean weight f rom 186 g to 641 g. Red drum averaging 0. 5 g
                           were produced in Texas by rearing 2- to 6-day-old larvae in
                           ten 0.1-ha ponds for 27 to 60 days with 20% survival and 29.7
                           kg/ha yield. Red drum stocked at a larger size (638-1,484 g)
                           and given supplemental feed did not grow (Colura et al 1976).
                           Lasswell et al. (1977) reported excellent growth (2 kg/yr) of
                           juveniles stocked in Texas reservoirs.

                           Juvenile red drum were reared to marketable size (454 g) in
                           0.08 ha brackish-water ponds in Alabama.      The yield when
                           harvested from 394-715 days old ranged from 787-2,292 kg/ha
                           with 1-33% of the drum marketable at harvest.     The cost of
                           feed approached the dock value of whole red drum, posing an
                           economic barrier -in Alabama    for mariculture of red drum
                           (Trimble 1979).

                 25
                   Federal Register 48(228):53142-53148, November 25, 1983.

           70

                                  The development of spawning techniques (Colura 1974; Arnold et
                                  al. 1977; Roberts, Harpster, and Henderson 1978) enhanced the
                                  mariculture potential for red drum.     Roberts, Morey, et al.
                                  (1978) investigated the effects of' delayed feeding, stocking
                                  density, and food density on survival, growth and production
                                  of larval red drum in Florida.        The tolerances of eggs,
                                  larvae, and postlarvae of red drum to ammonia and nitrite were
                                  investigated by Holt and Arnold (1983). Crocker et al. (1981)
                                  evaluated survival and growth of juveniles in fresh and salt
                                  water.

                                  The use of stocking as a potential management tool in Texas
                                  resulted from the declining trend in red drum abundance in
                                  Texas and the development of techniques to spawn and rear red
                                  drum in captivity (Matlock 1984). During 1975-1982 Texas bays
                                  were stocked with over 56 million red drum eggs (15%),        fry
                                  (80%), and fingerlings (5%).       To assess the success of
                                  fingerling stockings, 49,194 were tagged.       The success of
                                  these stockings has not yet been evaluated.           With    the
                                  completion of the John Wilson Hatchery at Corpus Christi,     the
                                  Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is involved in a
                                  comprehensive red drum restoration project (Sasser 1983). The
                                  impact of the stocking on the coastal fishery resource will be
                                  evaluated in on-going monitoring programs.     The Texas Parks
                                  and Wildlife Department has recently produced a hybrid cross
                                  between the red drum and black drum which may have potential
                                  as a freshwater sport fish (Anonymous 1983b).

                                  Historically, stocking of hatchery fish into coastal waters to
                                  improve catch has generally been a failure.       The value of
                                  artificially propogated sciaenids in the management of
                                  sciaenid stocks can best be realized through: (1) descriptions
                                  of previously undescribed early life stages, (2) bioassay, and
                                  (3) introduction of tagged, known-age stocks to determine
                                  growth, migratory patterns, and exploitation rate.       Stocking
                                  of large numbers of sciaenid larvae, fry, or fingerlings into
                                  the coastal area is not advocated unless they are stocked in
                                  water where they: (1) previously did not exist and an
                                  opportunity exists for filling an underutilized niche, (2) had
                                  existed but populations had reached such low levels that
                                  inadequate spawning stocks remain, (3) habitat alterations had
                                  eliminated spawning, growing or fishing grounds, or (4) water
                                  quality   persistently   prevented   successful    spawning    or
                                  year-class survival (Tatum 1981).

                        8.   CURRENT RESEARCH

                             There is little ongoing research on red drum on the Atlantic coast.
                             The Maryland Tidewater Administration, the Virginia Institute of
                             Marine Science, and the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries

                                                                                                 71

                       (NCDMF) conduct juvenile fish surveys in the.estuaries to monitor
                       finfish stocks. The NCDMF also samples the commercial fisheries in
                       order to monitor adult finfish stocks and will begin an adult
                       estuarine fish survey in 1984.      A tagging study and population
                       assessment of red drum in Georgia estuaries is being conducted by
                       the Georgia Coastal Resources Division. The Florida Department of
                       Natural Resources is completing a study on     life history, age and
                       growth, mortality, and yield per recruit of red drum, is examining
                       habitat loss in three Florida estuaries and changes in the
                       fisheries of those estuaries, and is tagging red drum (ages I-IV).
                       The National Park Service monitors juvenile finfish stocks and
                       conducts a creel survey of the recreational fishery in Everglades
                       National Park. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is conducting a
                       two-year resource assessment study of the commercial           fishery,
                       which includes red drum, in Everglades National Park.               NMFS
                       conducts annual marine recreational fishery statistics surveys and
                       commercial fishery statistics are collected by state and Federal
                       port agents.

                 9.    IDENTIFICATION OF PROBLERS

                       The Interstate Fisheries Management Program Sciaenid Technical
                       Committee has identified the following immediate red drum research
                       needs: (1) stock identification; (2) validation of uniform ageing
                       techniques throughout the range; and (3) tagging studies to
                       estimate fishing and total mortality.      Improved catch and effort
                       statistics for both the commercial and recreational fisheries are
                       needed to measure stock density.         Long-term monitoring needs
                       include:   (1) determination of habitat preferences    ' growth rates,
                       and food habits of larval and juvenile red drum; (2) assessment of
                       the effects of environmental factors on stock density; and (3)
                       yield modeling. The effectiveness of controlling fishing mortality
                       and minimum size in managing the fisheries needs to be examined.

                 10.   ACKNOWLEDGERENTS

                       I wish to thank the following members of the Interstate Fisheries
                       Management Program Sciaenid Technical Committee for providing
                       information from their States and for their suggestions and
                       constructive reviews of the manuscript:     Christopher Ordzie, Rhode
                       Island Division of Fish and Wildlife; Robert Sampson, Connecticut
                       Department of Environmental Protection; Alice Weber, New York
                       Department of Environmental Conservation; Paul Hamer, New Jersey
                       Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife; Richard Seagraves, Delaware
                       Division of Fish and Wildlife; Charles Frisbie, Maryland Tidewater
                       Administration; Herbert Austin and John A. Musick, Virginia
                       Institute of Marine Science; Douglas DeVries, North Carolina
                       Division of Marine Fisheries; Glenn Ulrich South Carolina Wildlife
                       and Marine Resources Center; James Music, ;eorgia Coastal Resources

           72

                             Division; Roy 0. Williams, Florida Department of Natural Resources;
                             Stuart J. Wilk, NMFS Northeast Fisheries Center, Sandy Hook
                             Laboratory; and John V. Merriner, NMFS Southeast Fisheries Center,
                             Beaufort Laboratory. The following individuals provided additional
                             information:    Katy West, North Carolina Division of Marine
                             Fisheries; Paul Anninos, Virginia Marine Resources Commission; Pam
                             Lunsford and John Williams, Maryland Department of Natural
                             Resources; Andrew Applegate, South Carolina Wildlife and Marine
                             Resources Department; Ronald Essig, Georgia Department of Natural
                             Resources; Ron Taylor and Mike Murphy, Florida Department of
                             Natural Resources; Mark Holliday and Richard Schween, NMFS Resource
                             Statistics Division; and Guy Davenport, NMFS Technical Information
                             and Management Services.      Sharon Sanchez typed the manuscript.
                             Figures were prepared by Val and Henry Page. Mary McGimsey of the
                             North Carolina Office of Public Affairs designed the cover layout.

                                                                                              73

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