283 
Age composition and distribution of red drum 
( Sciaenops ocellatus ) in offshore waters 
of the north central Gulf of Mexico: an evaluation 
of a stock under a federal harvest moratorium 
Email address for contact author: spowers@disl org 
1 Department of Marine Sciences 
University of South Alabama 
307 University Blvd 
Mobile, Alabama 36688 
2 Center for Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management 
Dauphin Island Sea Lab 
Dauphin Island, Alabama 36528 
Abstract — Because of a lack of fish- 
ery-dependent data, assessment of the 
recovery of fish stocks that undergo 
the most aggressive form of manage- 
ment, namely harvest moratoriums, 
remains a challenge. Large schools 
of red drum ( Sciaenops ocellatus) 
were common along the northern 
Gulf of Mexico until the late 1980s 
when increased fishing effort quickly 
depleted the stock. After 24 years of 
harvest moratorium on red drum in 
federal waters, the stock is in need 
of reassessment; however, fishery- 
dependent data are not available in 
federal waters and fishery-indepen- 
dent data are limited. We document 
the distribution, age composition, 
growth, and condition of red drum 
in coastal waters of the north central 
Gulf of Mexico, using data collected 
from a nearshore, randomized, bottom 
longline survey. Age composition of 
the fishery-independent catch indi- 
cates low mortality of fish age 6 and 
above and confirms the effectiveness 
of the federal fishing moratorium. 
Bottom longline surveys may be a 
cost-effective method for developing 
fishery-independent indices for red 
drum provided additional effort can 
be added to nearshore waters ( < 2 0 
m depth). As with most stocks under 
harvest bans, effective monitoring of 
the recovery of red drum will require 
the development of fishery-indepen- 
dent indices. With limited economic 
incentive to evaluate non-exploited 
stocks, the most cost-effective 
approach to developing such monitor- 
ing is expansion of existing fishery- 
independent surveys. We examine 
this possibility for red drum in the 
Gulf of Mexico and recommend the 
bottom longline survey conducted by 
the National Marine Fisheries Service 
expand effort in nearshore areas to 
allow for the development of long-term 
abundance indices for red drum. 
The views and opinions expressed 
or implied in this article are those of the 
author (or authors) and do not necessarily 
reflect the position of the National Marine 
Fisheries Service, NOAA. 
Manuscript submitted 14 November 2011. 
Manuscript accepted 30 March 2012. 
Fish. Bull. 110:283-292 (2012). 
Sean P. Powers (contact author ) 1 2 
Crystal L. Hightower' 2 
J. Marcus Drymon 2 
Matthew W. Johnson 2 
Data generated from the fishing 
industry are important for making 
population estimates and for evaluat- 
ing management strategies in fisher- 
ies stock assessments. When stocks 
are severely depleted, harvest closures 
must be considered. Although such 
strong measures are likely to accom- 
plish the goal of halting overfish- 
ing, the harvest ban simultaneously 
makes the determination of stock bio- 
mass status (e.g., overfished, recov- 
ered) increasingly difficult to assess. 
Although complete harvest bans are 
seldom used in the United States, 
recent mandates to end overfishing 
(2006 reauthorization of Magnuson- 
Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act [MSFCMA, 2006]) 
have required regional fisheries man- 
agement councils and the National 
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to 
consider this option more often. In 
1987, red drum ( Sciaenops ocellatus ) 
in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) was one 
of the first species to be designated 
as overfished; consequently, a fishery 
management plan (FMP) was devel- 
oped and aggressive management 
actions were taken. As part of the 
GOM red drum FMP, the harvest 
of red drum in federal waters of the 
GOM was prohibited. After eighteen 
years of restrictions, red drum were 
no longer undergoing overfishing; 
however, the stock condition remains 
unknown (listed as undefined in 2004; 
Hogarth 1 ). To properly evaluate this 
stock, updated biological information 
about adult red drum in the GOM 
is required. Typically, this informa- 
tion is collected directly from com- 
mercial and recreational fishermen, 
but owing to the harvest ban little is 
known about the current age struc- 
ture, condition, and distribution of 
adult red drum in the GOM. We 
address these deficiencies in data and 
evaluate the current status of the red 
drum population in the north central 
Gulf of Mexico (ncGOM) and, most 
importantly, recommend monitoring 
measures for the stock. 
Red drum occur throughout the 
GOM and along the Atlantic states to 
Massachusetts (Murphy and Taylor, 
1990) and are the target of an impor- 
tant recreational fishery in all South 
Atlantic and GOM state waters. Red 
drum in the GOM use estuarine habi- 
tats as juveniles, including marshes, 
oyster reefs, seagrasses, and small 
creeks (Wenner, 1992; Rooker et al., 
1 Hogarth, W. T. 2004. A message from 
the NOAA assistant administrator for 
fisheries: Welcome to NOAA’s National 
Marine Fisheries Service report on the 
status of the U.S. fisheries for 2004. 
NOA A.Washington D.C. 
