SEA 



SCIENCE 



stocks showed improved 

 recruitment of juveniles to the 

 adult population, the stock was 

 still undergoing overfishing, 

 according to a DMF report. 



As a result, further 

 regulations were implemented 

 in 1 998, limiting the harvest 

 of red drum to fish between 

 18 and 27 inches. Recreational 

 anglers saw bag limits reduced 

 from five to one red drum per 

 day, and commercial fishers 

 also had to adhere to daily 

 commercial trip limits. 



About this time, catch- 

 and-release was gaining 

 popularity. 



During the late 1990s, 

 N.C. Fishery Resource Grant Program 

 (FRG) researchers conducted a study about 

 post-hooking mortality in red drum. 



Through a project administered by 

 North Carolina Sea Grant, they found only 

 10 percent of fish caught with circle hooks 

 were deeply pierced, compared to around 50 

 percent caught with J-hooks. Deep hooking 

 can cause bleeding, anatomical damage 

 and stress from time consumed for hook 

 removal. 



Later this year, DMF will assess the 

 current status of red drum stocks. 



During the next two years, Sea Grant 

 researchers will tag and release 500 more red 

 drum. The data will help fishery managers 

 understand how many fish are killed by 

 natural causes such as predators, disease 

 and cold weather. Researchers also hope to 

 determine the average number of juveniles 

 that survive to adulthood. 



"Managers in North Carolina need 

 sound information on red drum's natural 

 and fishing deaths, gear selectivity, 

 movement patterns and habitat use," says 

 Bacheler. "Only tagging can provide all this 

 information simultaneously." 



"With the help of North Carolina 

 fishers, we hope to provide fishery managers 

 with useful information, ensuring that red 

 drum stocks remain healthy," he adds. □ 



JUVENILE RED 

 DRUM STUDY 



ABOVE: Red drum feed on the bottom for crabs, shrimp and fish 



Recreational anglers and commercial 

 fishers will be rewarded for catching red drum 

 with yellow tags from NC State or DMF, or red 

 tags from NC State. 



For each yellow NC State tag returned, 

 they receive $5, a cap or a T-shirt. A red 

 NC State tag brings a reward of $100. After 

 catching a red drum with a NC State tag, 

 anglers slwuld call 800/790-2780. 



For each yellow DMF tag, anglers receive 

 a cap or $5 if they call 800/683-2632. 



FAST FACTS 



Red drum, not surprisingly, get their name 

 from their reddish-brown color. What's more, 

 during spawning, males produce a drum-like 

 noise by vibrating a muscle in their swim bladder. 



• Scientific Name: Sciaenops ocdlatus, 

 means perch-like marine fish (Greek) with eye- 

 like colored spots (Latin). 



• Common Names: Channel bass, 

 spottail bass, puppy drum or redfish. 



• Size: When mature, ranges from 26 to 

 45 inches. They reach the minimum legal size of 

 1 8 inches early in their second year. 



• Distinguishing Marks: Red drum bear 

 black spots near the base of their tails. 



• Special Characteristic: Biologists 

 speculate that red drum fool their predators into 

 attacking their tails, not their eyes — buying time 

 for an escape. 



orth Carolina Sea 

 Grant researchers have found 

 that juvenile red drum move 

 during the fall to shallow 

 waters of estuaries. 



Using ear bones, or 

 otoliths, to determine the age 

 of fish, University of North 

 Carolina at Wilmington 

 scientists determined that the 

 hatching time of young red 

 drum occurred mostly during 

 August and September. Red 

 drum are prolific spawners 

 with large females producing 

 up to two million eggs in a single season. 



"In addition, differences in hatching time 

 between years suggest that nearshore ocean 

 water temperatures can influence the initiation 

 of spawning," according to lead researcher Fred 

 Scharf. 



During the fall, red drum growth rates 

 varied considerably among fish, leading to a 

 large range of body sizes at the onset of winter. 



Through caging experiments, researchers 

 found that temperature had a stronger effect 

 on red drum growth in estuaries than salinity. 

 The following spring, they also found that the 

 growth rate of juvenile red drum was rapid. 

 "This was likely related to increased water 

 temperatures and dietary shifts," adds Scharf. 



When looking at mortality rates, the Sea 

 Grant team found a higher number of juveniles 

 in the New River estuaries compared to the 

 Cape Fear River. 



In addition the scientists found lower 

 capture rates in the spring, indicating a 35 to 

 63 percent decline in abundance during the 

 winter months. 



Scharf says the data will help fishery 

 managers improve their understanding of 

 prerecruitment dynamics of red drum. "It 

 also will help them evaluate the effectiveness 

 of recent management actions by the state of 

 North Carolina to improve the escapement of 

 young fish into adult stock," he adds. — AG. 



26 Coastwatch I Autumn 2006 I www.ncseagrant.org 



