UNIT 9 SOUTHEAST DRUM AND CROAKER FISHERIES INTRODUCTION Important species in this unit are the Atlantic croaker, spot, red drum, black drum, kingfishes (whiting), spotted seatrout, and other seatrouts (Table 9-1). The drum family includes several commercially and recreationally important fishes that have been harvested since at least the late 1800's when commercial landings were first estimated. Other fisheries are much more recent. A classic example is the popularity of blackened redfish in the 1980's which stimulated a significant demand for red drum so that in a few years the stock was seriously depleted. Most drum and croaker are harvested in state waters and are therefore under state management. In recent years, several states have set regulations favoring recreational use of some species, such as the red drum. Commercial adult red drum purse seining in Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico developed rapidly in the middle 1980's as demand grew for blackened redfish. Before that, nearly all red drum were harvested in nearshore state waters as juveniles. But as the offshore fishery developed, it became clear that the schooling adult redfish were extremely vulnerable to heavy harvests. Analyses showed that long-term potential yields for this fishery required limiting the harvest of the larger adult fish. In addition, greater inshore redfish catches by recreational and commercial fishermen, complicated by other factors, had cut the number of young fish that could have replenished offshore adult stocks. Eventually a Red Drum Fishery Management Plan was developed for Gulf and, later, Atlantic waters. Both plans ban red drum fishing in Federal waters until the adult population increases in size. This effectively bars a significant adult red drum fishery in Federal waters as long as state rules favor substantial inshore fishing for young red drum. State actions so far have preserved inshore harvests and allocated most or all of the catch to sport fishermen. SPECIES AND STATUS Commercial drum landings peaked in 1956 at over 32,000 t, more than 20,000 t above the 1953 level. That great increase was stimulated by development of raw material sources for the pet food industry from the northern Gulf of Mexico. Atlantic croaker was sought for pet food as well, and about 76% of the associated landings were croaker and sand and silver seatrout. This pet food catch was reported with the industrial fishery data after 1956, and estimates of its size and value have since been unavailable. Status and potential yields for these species are given in Table 9-1. The ex-vessel revenue from this group for human consumption was about $10 million in 1978. This increased to about $22 million in 1986, largely as a result of an increase in the price of the fish. The overall sport catch of these species has been about equal to the commercial harvest for human consumption (Fig. 9-1). ISSUES Bycatch and Multispecies Interactions Efficient and economical means of reducing the bycatch of finfish in the shrimp fishery must be developed. Large numbers of Atlantic croaker, spot, and seatrout (sand, silver, spotted, etc.) are caught and killed in shrimp trawls. Estimates of the 1972-89 bycatch in the Gulf's offshore shrimp fishery averaged about 500 million spot, 1 billion seatrout, and 7.5 billion croaker. These species constitute the bulk of the offshore bycatch of finfish which averaged about 175,000 t during the 1980's.