At last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC), LDWF marine fisheries biologist Jason Adriance gave the most recent assessment on red drum stocks in the state. The report summarized that, while spawning stocks of redfish are still above the conservation standard, the number has been declining since 2005 as fewer redfish escape to spawning size. And unless management changes are initiated soon, we could see a situation where the fishery is unsustainable.
Red drum spawning potential ratio
Red drum are unique in that the vast majority of harvest are juvenile fish. These immature fish are typically under 4 to 5 years of age, under 27 inches in length, and under 10 pounds in weight. When a redfish reaches 4 to 5 years of age, it usually migrates to nearshore or offshore waters to join the spawning population. To protect these spawning stocks, recreational harvest of mature redfish in federal waters is not allowed and severely limited in state waters. Current regulations for Louisiana are 5 fish per day, 16 to 27 inches only, with one exception over 27 inches.
Red drum escapement to spawning stock
By far, redfish are the most popular species among saltwater fly fishermen in the state – and from elsewhere. Louisiana has been described in numerous publications as the “Redfish Capitol of the World” and supports at least a few dozen flyfishing charter services that put clients on fish in shallow water for a sightcasting experience found only in a few places (mainly Texas and South Carolina). The state hosts numerous redfish tournaments each year including many kayak tournaments, and has even hosted the prestigious Hobie World Championship event. Most of these events have in recent years moved to a CPR format for conservation purposes.
Scenario 1: Increase escapement based on creel only
The assessment came as no surprise to veteran redfish anglers. There’s been loads of anecdotal evidence to support that fishing for reds “ain’t what it used to be”. Coming just months after an assessment on spotted seatrout (specks) that indicated management changes were needed for that species as well, the reasons given for specks being much the same for redfish. Those include: loss of habitat (especially diverse habitat), decline of available forage (yep, that menhaden issue again), and increased fishing pressure. Regarding the latter, it should be noted that the current regulations ( 5 fish per day, 16 to 27 inches only, with one exception over 27 inches) were established 34 years ago in 1988. The numbers of saltwater anglers in the state, the amount of fishing effort, and the expertise and technology to improve fishing success have all increased dramatically since then.
Management thresholds for red drum have been established by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (GMFMC). For Louisiana, the conservation standard is a 20 percent spawning potential ratio, based on a 30 percent escapement rate. While currently we have a 40 percent SPR, the escapement rate estimate is 20 percent. And because there is a time lag between escapement and recruitment, this means we’ll likely see a further decline in fishing for a few years until any restrictive measures kick in.
Scenario 2: Increase escapement going to 18″ min slot but retaining 1 over maximum
Adriance and his team also provided the Commission with numerous scenarios for management changes to get red drum back above the conservation standards. These came in the form of tables and graphs with different harvest numbers, slot sizes, and retaining or removing the one-exception over the maximum slot size. The charts shown on the left are a few of the ones we think point to a case where the most benefit with the least amount of “pain”.
To summarize, it appears that increasing the minimum size length from 16 to 18 inches has much more benefit than lowering the maximum size of 27 inches. Also, there appears to be less benefit moving the minimum up above 18. Lowering the daily creel from 5 to 4 … or even 3 fish has ample benefit as well. Surprisingly, a significant benefit comes from eliminating the one daily exception above the maximum slot limit.
Scenario 3: Increase escapement going to 18″ min slot but eliminating one over max
Looking at the charts, one can see that, if the new regulation were to be 3 fish per day, 18 to 27 inches, with no exception above 27 inches, then redfish SPR and escapement should once again be above the conservation standard in a few years.
The FFI GCC Conservation Committee will meet shortly to discuss the Louisiana redfish issue, and hopefully come up with a recommendation that will best serve to bring the species to quick recovery while giving our members a quality fishery for decades to come.
