If we are going to enlist change for better fisheries management in North Carolina I should first tell you a little bit about our states' saltwater fish, Sciaenops ocellatus ak
a redfish, red drum, spottail bass, puppy drum & channel bass.The North Carolina General Assembly designated red drum the state saltwater fish in 1971, a resident fish the state had long been famous for due to its ability to reach trophy proportions on the sprawling coast, many fish grow to over 40 pounds in these waters still! The current all tackle world record for the species was caught off of Hatteras Island in 1984, the behemoth weighed in at 94 pounds, 2 ounces and was fought on surf tackle. To date 10 of the 16 world records for red drum were produced by anglers in North Carolina waters.
Red Drum are unique fish well adapted to life in coastal estuaries and sounds. Some of the defining characte
ristics of the species are their coppery color, their ability to make a "drumming" noise by vibrating muscles in their swim bladder and the easily distinguishable black spot (ocellatus) or spots that are almost always found near the tail and on rare occasions freckling the body. It is commonly believed that the "spot" keeps predators from attacking the fish at the head by mistaking the spot at the tail for a false eye. Combine this adaptation with the fact that a drums tail can almost scissor closed to escape hungry jaws and you have one well engineered shallow water gamefish.It is commonly known that red drum spend the first 4-5 years of their lives surviving in shallow salt marshes, sounds and protected estuaries before becoming sexually mature and venturing out into the ocean or nearby inlets to spawn and grow larger. It is in the primitive years that red drum become susceptible to numerous hazards including but not limited to dolphins, sharks, alligators, birds of prey and man.
Of all of these hazards it is certainly man that has caused the most damage due to habitat loss and poor fisheries management practices. One major problem occurring on the North Carolina Coast is a single gill net, attended or not by its angler(s), can literally wipe out an entire year or years class of juvenile red drum in minutes. Furthermore while the North Carolina Department of Marine Fisheries intends to manage the fishery under a "bycatch" system the problem persists that many red drum, sea turtles and pelagic birds are entangled in commercial gill netting and drown and or
spoil in nets left unchecked. This is a terrible predicament for a resource of such magnitude to be facing and we need your help to right the wrongs.Stay tuned for the latest rulings regarding Red Drum Fisheries Management and other North Carolina Dept. of Marine Fisheries information and legislation.
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Till next tide,
Capt. Seth~
