Bacheler et at: Variation in movement patterns of Sciaenops ocellatus 
409 
(Table 1). Some age and region combinations had small 
sample sizes, in particular age-3 and age-4+ red drum 
tagged and recovered in WPS. 
Red drum were tagged and recovered broadly in near- 
shore areas throughout estuaries and the coast of North 
Carolina (Fig. 2). Age-1 and age-2 red drum were tagged 
in large numbers in all estuarine and coastal regions 
of the state, and recoveries occurred throughout North 
Carolina waters (Fig. 2, A and B). Tagging of age-3 
red drum was mainly focused in NPR and EPS, and 
recoveries generally occurred in nearby areas (Fig. 2C). 
Tagging of age-4+ red drum was concentrated around 
Ocracoke Inlet (EPS), the lower Neuse and Pamlico 
rivers (NPR), and Cape Fear River (SNC); recoveries 
appeared to be concentrated in these same three areas 
(Fig. 2D). 
Most recoveries occurred within the region in which 
tagging took place (Table 2). Highest regional fidelity 
was observed in SNC, where between 94% and 100% 
of tagged red drum were recovered in SNC. Lowest 
regional fidelity was observed in WPS, where from 0 to 
3% of each age class were recovered in WPS; most fish 
tagged in WPS were recovered in EPS (50-100% of each 
age class; Table 2). 
There were regional differences in movement metrics 
among the four age classes of red drum. Log-trans- 
formed mean days at large, mean distance moved, and 
mean movement rate of red drum were all significantly 
influenced by both region of tagging and age of the fish 
(two-way factorial ANOVA; all P<0.001). Specifically, 
mean days at large was positively related to age at 
tagging; age-1 red drum spent 100.8 ±2.8 d (mean ± 
standard error [SE] ) at large, whereas age-4+ fish were 
at large much longer (693.8 ±37.9 d; Table 3). Mean 
distance moved was smallest for age-3 red drum (10.1 
±1.2 km) and farthest for age-4+ fish (30.2 ±2.0 km). 
Movement rates were much higher for age-1 red drum 
(1.1 ±0.1 km/d) compared to other age classes, which 
varied from 0.2 to 0.4 km/d (Table 3). In addition, there 
were significant interactions between region and age 
for all analyses (all interactions P<0.01). 
Prevailing directions of movements were region- and 
age-dependent (Fig. 3). Generally, age-1 and age-2 red 
drum moved parallel to the coast (in estuarine and 
coastal waters), except for fish tagged in NPR, which 
tended to move primarily toward the coast. Rarely 
did subadult red drum move up rivers and estuaries 
toward low-salinity waters. Age-1 red drum tagged 
in EPS and WPS moved mainly southwest along the 
coast, whereas those tagged in SNC moved mainly 
northeast and southwest. Age-2 red drum generally 
showed more northward movements than age-1 red 
drum, especially in the northern regions of EPS and 
WPS (Fig. 3). Age-3 red drum displayed limited move- 
ments, but sample sizes for this age class were smaller 
than those for other age classes. Age-4+ red drum 
tagged in EPS moved farthest toward the north and 
south, but many fish moved shorter distances to the 
east and west. Movement distances for age-4+ red 
drum were minimal in all other regions, with the ex- 
Table 1 
Number of conventionally tagged North Carolina red 
drum ( Sciaenops ocellatus) that were recovered by fish- 
ermen and classified by age, region, and season of tag- 
ging, 1983-2007. No winter or spring data exist for age-1 
red drum because these individuals were too small to be 
tagged in the winter and spring tagging program for this 
age group. Region codes are the following: eastern Pam- 
lico Sound (EPS), western Pamlico Sound (WPS), Neuse 
and Pamlico rivers (NPR), and southern North Carolina 
(SNC). 
Season of 
tagging by age 
Region 
EPS 
WPS 
NPR 
SNC 
Total 
Age 1 
Summer 
179 
58 
871 
104 
1212 
Fall 
340 
200 
1,550 
220 
2310 
Age 2 
Winter 
184 
48 
356 
79 
667 
Spring 
171 
13 
523 
47 
754 
Summer 
98 
6 
102 
29 
235 
Fall 
119 
20 
59 
99 
297 
Age 3 
Winter 
12 
0 
24 
2 
38 
Spring 
17 
2 
4 
9 
32 
Summer 
13 
0 
0 
16 
29 
Fall 
40 
1 
2 
7 
50 
Age 4+ 
Winter 
1 
0 
1 
4 
6 
Spring 
71 
0 
0 
1 
72 
Summer 
27 
0 
86 
30 
143 
Fall 
242 
2 
73 
11 
328 
Total 
1514 
350 
3651 
658 
6173 
ception of primarily northeast (downriver) movements 
in NPR (Fig. 3). 
Red drum of all ages had highest movement rates 
during fall. Movement rate within 60 days of tagging 
was influenced by season (PcO.Ol) and age (P=0.04); 
the interaction between season and age was also sig- 
nificant (PcO.Ol). Age-1 red drum showed the highest 
fall movement rates, and age-4+ displayed the highest 
movement rate of any age class in spring and summer. 
Age-3 red drum had the lowest movement rate of any 
age class in spring and fall. 
Four features were apparent for the detailed seasonal 
examination of directions and distances moved for age- 
1 and age-2 red drum (Fig. 4). First, higher propor- 
tions of long-distance movements occurred during fall 
months; in fact, a majority of movements during fall 
months consisted of distances greater than 20.1 km. 
Second, regional differences were observed in both 
distances and directions moved, especially during fall 
months. For instance, most movements of age-1 red 
drum tagged in eastern Pamlico Sound consisted of 
long-distance movements (>20.1 km) to the southwest, 
