Saving Seafood

New red drum satellite tracking platform officially launches

November 13, 2025 — A new satellite tracking program is giving the public an unprecedented look into the lives of North Carolina’s state saltwater fish — the red drum.

The North Carolina Marine & Estuary Foundation has officially launched an interactive online platform that allows users to follow the migration routes of tagged red drum along the state’s coast in near real time. The initiative combines science and technology to better understand the species’ movement patterns and habitat use, while encouraging public engagement in marine conservation.

“Red drum are an iconic symbol of North Carolina’s coastal communities and a key driver of our state’s $4 billion saltwater fishing economy,” said Foundation Executive Director Chad Thomas. “This exciting new tool invites the public to engage directly with real-time science from the field—to see where these fish travel and to understand why protecting their habitat matters.”

Read the full article at the Island Free Press

Menhaden not key forage for other Gulf species, study says

August 19, 2025 — A study by Mississippi-based researchers found that menhaden are not a primary food source for Gulf of Mexico predator species like red drum, summer flounder, and spotted sea trout.

“The study provides a comprehensive understanding of the Gulf food web and charts the trophic interactions that structure it,” according to a summary from the University of Southern Mississippi. “The findings have fishery management implications for several of the species evaluated in the study. Most notably, Gulf menhaden was not found to be a primary food source for any of the predator species studied.”

The question of menhaden’s role in the Gulf ecosystem is a perennial, hot-button issue in fisheries management. The impact of the region’s commercial menhaden fleet is routinely challenged by recreational and other user groups.

The project, funded by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) combined the latest in stable isotope analysis “and an extensive meta-analysis of hundreds of published stomach content studies dating back to the 1950s” from Gulf fisheries research.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ASMFC Sciaenids Board Approves Red Drum Draft Addendum II for Public Comment Draft Addendum Considers Modifications to Red Drum Management

August 7, 2025 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Commission’s Sciaenids Management Board approved Draft Addendum II to Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Red Drum for public comment. The Draft Addendum considers several changes to the management programs in the southern (South Carolina to Florida) and northern (New Jersey to North Carolina) regions in response to the findings of the 2024 Red Drum Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report.

 
Specifically, the assessment found the southern stock to be overfished and experiencing overfishing. As a result, the Draft Addendum considers two fishing mortality options states may not exceed in order to end overfishing. Although the northern stock is not overfished nor experiencing overfishing, the Board is concerned with an increasing trend in fishing mortality observed in the northern region. To address this trend, the Draft Addendum considers changes to the recreational bag and slot limits of states in the northern region, as well as provide states the opportunity to align their differing regulations, particularly in Chesapeake Bay.
 
The Draft Addendum also includes a process for states to propose management measures in response to the 2024 benchmark stock assessment, as well as future assessment advice. Further, the Draft Addendum proposes a process to allow states to submit stock status analyses conducted outside the Commission’s stock assessment process to be considered for management use. Lastly, the Draft Addendum proposes updates to the management program’s de minimis provisions. The Commission includes de minimis provisions in its FMPs to reduce the management burden for states whose measures would have a negligible effect on the conservation of the species.
 
A subsequent press release will provide the details of upcoming state public hearings and how to submit written comments. The Board will meet to review submitted comments and consider final action on the Addendum in October. For more information, please contact Tracey Bauer, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at  tbauer@asmfc.org or 703.842.0723.

LOUISIANA: New Study Debunks Red Drum Crisis Claims: Louisiana’s Gulf Menhaden Fishery Not to Blame

July 14, 2025 — A landmark Louisiana-funded study confirms what decades of fisheries science have long suggested: the Gulf menhaden fishery is not a major contributor to red drum mortality in Louisiana waters.

The comprehensive bycatch assessment, conducted by LGL Ecological Research Associates and administered through the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, found that commercial menhaden harvesters were responsible for just 3.4% of red drum removals by number statewide in 2024. In contrast, 96.6% of removals were from the recreational sector.

These findings come at a time when misinformation about red drum bycatch has fueled public pressure for new restrictions on commercial harvesters. But the data tells a clear story: Louisiana’s menhaden fishery is both sustainable and responsible — and not a threat to red drum populations.

Backed by Independent Science

The study was funded through a $1 million appropriation by the Louisiana Legislature and carried out during the 2024 fishing season. It is the most extensive bycatch study ever conducted in the Gulf menhaden fishery, with data collected from 418 purse seine sets — 3.2% of total effort, exceeding the original sampling goal by more than 50%.

Observers and electronic monitoring systems were used to gather and verify data. The study employed advanced techniques such as Reflex Action Mortality Predictors (RAMP) and 24-hour live holding tanks to assess fish survival.

Read the full article at NOLA.com

 

LOUISIANA: Gulf menhaden fishery no threat to red drum, study finds

July 10, 2025 — A study of bycatch in the Louisiana menhaden purse seine fishery found that overall non-target fish species comprised 3.59 percent by weight – below the state’s restriction for no more than 5 percent, according to a July 8 report to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission.

Capture of red drum as menhaden bycatch was calculated to account for 3.4 percent of red drum mortality in the state. Menhaden industry advocates welcomed the findings at the commission’s July meeting, saying the detailed data showed 30,142 redfish were taken by the fishery during 2024, “while recreational fishing is responsible for 96.6 percent by number of fish.”

“The study reaffirms what decades of science have consistently shown: Louisiana’s Gulf menhaden fishery is sustainable, selective, and not a threat to red drum populations,” the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition said in a statement after the report’s release.

The study was funded with a $1 million appropriation from the Louisiana state Legislature, and administered by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission. Conducted by researchers with LGL Ecological Research Associates Inc. on board menhaden vessels for seven months during the 2024 fishing season, the study “represents the most detailed assessment of bycatch in the history of the Gulf menhaden fishery,” according to the menhaden coalition.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

New criteria introduced for Gulf of Mexico reef fish and red drum management

July 18, 2022 — NOAA Fisheries has approved new criteria to inform Gulf of Mexico reef fish and red drum management.

In March 2022, NOAA Fisheries and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council recommended changes in the fisheries management plans for both reef fish and red drum in the Gulf of Mexico – Amendment 48 to the fishery management plan for reef fish resources in the Gulf of Mexico and Amendment 5 to the management plan for the red drum fishery of the Gulf of Mexico.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

New criteria for Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish and Red Drum management

June 29, 2022 — NOAA Fisheries approved new criteria to inform Gulf of Mexico reef fish and red drum management, changing Amendments 48 and 5 for the respective fishery management plans.

Earlier this year NOAA Fisheries requested comments on new criteria used to inform Gulf of Mexico reef fish and red drum management. On March 2022, announcing the request, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council recommended these criteria changes for two amendments, Amendment 48 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and Amendment 5 to the FMP for the Red Drum Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico (Amendments 48/5).

According to NOAA Fisheries, “Amendment 48 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and Amendment 5 to the FMP for the Red Drum Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico (Amendments 48/5) were developed to establish or modify maximum sustainable yield (MSY) proxies, overfishing and overfished determination criteria called maximum fishing mortality thresholds (MFMTs), and minimum stock size thresholds (MSSTs), respectively, and optimum yield (OY) for some reef fish species and red drum.”

Plans and regulations are reviewed annually

The agency adds that “Status determination criteria are the MSY, MFMT, and MSST and are measurable and objective values or proxies that are used to determine if overfishing has occurred, or if the stock or stock complex is overfished. Overfishing means too many fish are being harvested from a population and overfished means that the population is too low.” Follow the link to download a Status Determination Criteria Infographic published by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

ASMFC Schedules Red Drum Simulation Assessment Review Workshop for March 28 – 30, 2022

March 17, 2022 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Red Drum Simulation Assessment will be peer-reviewed from March 28-30, 2022. The Simulation Assessment will evaluate multiple candidate models using simulated data sets to identify the model best suited for tracking red drum population dynamics. Once a preferred model is identified, it will be used in future benchmark assessments to provide advice to the Sciaenids Fishery Management Board on red drum management. 

The Review Workshop is open to the public and will be held at the DoubleTree Brownstone Hotel, 1707 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, North Carolina. The Workshop agenda can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/RedDrumAssessmentReviewWorkshop.pdf.

The Simulation Assessment and Review Report will be considered by the Sciaenids Fishery Management Board in May 2022. For more information, please contact Tina Berger, Director of Communications, at tberger@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.  

 

Red Drum Simulation Assessment Data Workshop Scheduled for November 9-10 & 12-13, 2020

October 14, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

As the first step in the development of the next red drum benchmark stock assessment, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has scheduled a Data Workshop for November 9-10 & 12-13, 2020 to review and evaluate available data sets for use in the stock assessment. The Workshop will be held via webinar and is open to the public. The Workshop details and agenda can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/files/Meetings/RedDrumSimulationAssmtDataWorkshopAgenda_Nov2020.pdf.

For more information, please contact Savannah Lewis, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at slewis@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

ASMFC Begins Preparations for Red Drum Benchmark Stock Assessment

August 27, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has begun work on the next Red Drum Benchmark Stock Assessment and is requesting data from academia, member states, federal partners, non-governmental organizations, participating jurisdictions and stakeholders. A data workshop will occur in November 2020 with specific dates still to be determined.

The Commission welcomes the submission of data sources that will improve the accuracy of the assessment. This includes, but is not limited to, data on catch per unit effort, tag-recapture data, biological samples (lengths, ages), and life history information (growth, maturity, natural mortality). For data sets to be considered, the data must be sent in the required format with accompanying description of methods to Jeff Kipp, Stock Assessment Scientist, at jkipp@asmfc.org by October 1, 2020.

For more information about the assessments or the submission and presentation of materials, please contact Savannah Lewis, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at slewis@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.