One of Florida’s most popular sport fish, red drum is also one of the state’s most

widespread estuarine inhabitants. Red drum are prodigious spawners that may produce tens of millions of eggs each year. Their relative hardiness and prolific nature make them ideal for rearing in hatcheries. Stringent fishing restrictions have been instrumental in restoring their populations.

DescriptionAlso called redfish, channel bass, spottail, red bass, and simply “reds,” red drum are identified by the large spot on the tail. Their common name describes both their color and the “drumming” sound they make during spawning and when taken from the water. This drumming is produced by special muscles rubbing against the inflated air bladder, like fingers rubbing a balloon.

Red drum are reddish brown on the back, fading to white below. Juveniles have a copper or bronze tint. Most red drum have one distinctive black spot at the base of the tail, but some have several spots, and

others have none. In 1997, fish biologists identified a red drum that had hundreds of spots. The body is elongated and thick, with a gently arched back and sloping head. The large scales on the

upper body are rough, while those on the breast area are smooth. Red drum have two dorsal fins; the front fin has sharp spines, and the back fin has soft rays resembling a flat-top haircut. The adult’s tail is broad and either flat at the end or slightly concave. The long pectoral (side) fins are rust-colored.

Red drum colors vary according to where the fish lives. Those in the Gulf of Mexico are a lighter red than those that reside in muddy bays. Occupants of white, sandy bottoms have light, muted colors. When taken from the water, the fish may turn a darker red.

Red drum in Florida may live 25 to 35 years. Atlantic-coast reds are generally larger than those on the gulf coast. Although the largest ever caught weighed 94 pounds, the largest recorded in Florida was 52 pounds 5 ounces and was taken in Cocoa in 1996. The largest caught in Florida with fly-fishing tackle was landed in 1995 in the Banana River and weighed 43 pounds.

RED DRUMMarine Musicians

Scientific Name Sciaenops ocellatus

Size On average can grow to 40 inches, 40 pounds on the Gulf of Mexico coast; 45 inches, 52 pounds on the Atlantic coast

Range From Massachusetts to Key West along the Atlantic coast and throughout the Gulf of Mexico

Habitat  Juveniles live in seagrass meadows and over muddy and sand bottoms in inshore estuaries. Adults normally live in open oceanic and gulf waters.

Status Only recreational harvest of red drum is permitted

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

Red drum art after Diane Rome Peebles painting.

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RangeRed drum occur in the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Key West and throughout the Gulf of Mexico. They are rare in extreme southern Florida, along the Atlantic coast north of the Chesapeake Bay, and along the Mexican coast south of Vera Cruz. Most of their life cycle is spent in nearshore waters, so their fishery is managed mainly by states rather than federal agencies.

Red drum thrive in a wide range of salinities and temperatures, an adaptation that suits their versatile lifestyle. Juveniles can tolerate fresh water, whereas larger reds prefer higher salinities. They are comfortable from 50°F to about 81.5°F. Small red drum can withstand a greater range, from about 36°F to 91°F. They are vulnerable to sudden drops in temperatures, however, and move into warmer, deeper waters during cold spells.

Life HistoryGiven their relatively long lives, red drum mature at a young age. Males can spawn at about two years old and four pounds, whereas females are sexually mature at about four years old and 13 pounds. They begin spawning in fall when waters cool and daylight hours decrease. Most spawn near passes and inlets, but reds in the Everglades area may travel offshore, and those in Brevard County’s Mosquito and northern Indian River lagoons spawn within the estuary. Spawning season in the Gulf of Mexico runs from August to mid-November, peaking in September. Atlantic red drum may begin as early as July and continue through December, peaking in September or October. Spawning is often triggered by new- or full-moon phases.

Red drum have an energetic and elaborate courtship ritual. Beginning in late afternoon, males

follow females for hours while drumming loudly and butting them. Often, several males pursue one female. The males’ colors intensify dramatically during courtship; their bellies turn stark white, and their flanks and backs turn bronze. Just after dark, they shudder, and the female releases a milky cloud of eggs and the male a cloud of sperm. Females may shed 1 million eggs in a single spawn—enough to fill a quart jar—and they may spawn every three to five days. Over an entire spawning season, they may produce tens of millions of eggs, but very few will survive to adulthood.

The fertilized eggs, about 1 millimeter in diameter, are clear and contain oil globules that keep them afloat as they are carried shoreward by the tide. The eggs hatch within 20 to 30 hours. Each larval fish has an attached yolk that provides nutrients for its first three days. After the yolk is completely absorbed, the larvae feed on tiny floating animals called plankton until they reach the estuarine nursery areas. An early, severe winter following spawning can make the larvae sluggish and unable to capture plankton. The fragile larvae are susceptible to changes in salinity and grow best in about 30 parts salt per 1,000 parts water. After this stage, lasting about 2½ weeks, gradual salinity variations are not a serious problem.

In the estuary, the juveniles settle along the edges of seagrass beds and other dense, submerged vegetation where they are protected until they can swim and feed on the bottom. At about one inch long, the young fish begin to gather in schools. They grow rapidly, and by one year old, they may be 13 to 14 inches long. Red drum continue to grow throughout their lives, although after they are about three feet long, they gain more in girth than in length.

Juveniles less than one year old move in and out of backwater channels and canals as they develop and may remain in the estuary for up to four years. Adults move out of the estuaries and join large aggregations of sexually mature fish. Although some spawn inshore, most spawn at nearshore entrances to estuaries.

In general, Florida red drum are not long-distance travelers and tend to remain in the area in which they were spawned. In tagging studies of immature red drum on Florida’s gulf coast, 50% to 85% were recaptured within six miles of their original release site.

Generally, red drum spawn in fall when the water is cooler and the

days contain 10 hours of sunlight

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Although they sometimes feed at the surface or in midwater, red drum are primarily bottom feeders. They are often seen in shallows browsing head-down with their tails out of the water—a behavior called “tailing.” Their fondness for tasty crabs and shrimp probably contributes to their own delicate flavor and tender white meat. Red drum locate food by sight, touch, and vacuuming or biting the bottom.

As red drum grow, their food preferences change. Juveniles up to two years old select tiny crustaceans such as copepods and crabs, whereas older juveniles favor crabs and fish. Red drum feed primarily in the early morning and late afternoon and are voracious eaters whose penchant for lunging at almost any natural bait endears them to anglers.

Mangroves and marsh grasses indirectly play a critical role in the diet of red drum in southwestern and southern Florida. Fish, crabs, and shrimp feed on mangrove leaves that fall into the water and decay, and red drum feast on the fish, crabs, and shrimp. Because estuaries are vital nursery grounds, deterioration of water quality or loss of suitable habitat in these areas may limit the number of young fish that become reproductive adults.

Economic ImportanceThroughout history, people have caught red drum for food and recreation off the Atlantic seaboard from Virginia to Georgia. In Florida, red drum were caught mainly for sustenance until the growth of transportation networks and markets allowed fish to be shipped long distances. A commercial fishery for red drum began in the 1850s, but since the early 1980s, the majority of Florida’s red drum catch has been taken by recreational anglers. For example, the recreational harvest in 1985 totaled 2.3 million pounds, whereas the commercial harvest accounted for less than half a million pounds.

In the 1970s, Florida’s red drum populations began to decline. Red drum apparently disappeared from Biscayne Bay—possibly because of declining water quality, loss of habitat, and diversion of freshwater flows. The surging popularity of spicy, blackened redfish in the early 1980s caused similar declines along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast.

Management EffortsBeginning in 1986, state and federal governments began enacting regulations to protect red drum, reducing recreational catches and banning commercial harvests in Florida in 1989. Annual red drum landings then declined from 2.1 million in the mid-1980s to about 250,000 in 1993. Recreational harvests are still allowed year-round, but there are bag and size limits. Since 1993, recreational harvests have increased to about 600,000 fish in 2008 because more anglers have targeted this rapidly growing, easily accessible nearshore fish. The growing emphasis on catch-and-release fishing may lower future recreational landings. The red drum population is currently meeting management goals because regulations were established when the fishery was depleted. This Florida fishery is considered a success and a positive outcome of fisheries regulations.

Since 1988, scientists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Fish and Wildlife Research Institute have reared red drum in the State hatchery at Port Manatee and released them into the wild. Using 20- to 30-pound wild-caught red drum as brood stock, scientists manipulate water temperature and hours of daylight in order to stimulate the fish to spawn on demand. The eggs, carefully tended, hatch in about 24 hours. The larvae are reared to juveniles of various sizes and then released into the wild, where their survival is evaluated. Scientists hope that this process can successfully rebuild native stocks. From 1988 through 2004, more than 6 million juvenile red drum were released into Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Biscayne Bay, Indian River, and estuaries in Collier and Volusia counties.

Three sizes of hatchery-reared juveniles have been released: 1 to 2 inches long, 3 to 4 inches long, and 6 inches or longer. The smallest juveniles are

Because Florida’s east- and west-coast red drum differ genetically, researchers release hatchery-reared juveniles only

into their respective populations.

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about 35 days old, and the largest are about 8-10 months old. By studying how well these various age groups do on their own, researchers determine which size is economical to produce and is reasonably able to survive in the wild.

Information from anglers is important in tracking the success of the hatchery program. In Biscayne Bay, scientists successfully established a small population of hatchery-reared red drum to replace a wild one that either had been very small or had nearly disappeared decades ago. Many of the hatchery-reared red drum have external tags. Anglers who catch tagged fish are asked to report their finds by calling the toll-free telephone number shown on the tag. Anglers have reported catching about 17% of the hatchery-reared fish released in the Indian River during the late 1990s, whereas anglers have reported only 0.42% of the larger red drum released in Biscayne Bay.

A supplemental monitoring program samples fish populations to find hatchery-reared juveniles too small for anglers to catch. This program also provides information about which habitat types are more likely to be vital to the survival of these young fish.

Fishing license revenue and the federal Sport Fish Restoration (SFR) Program are important sources of funding for sport fish research. The SFR Program is a “user pays, user benefits” system funded by a tax on

sales of recreational fishing equipment and motor boat fuel. The program supplies three dollars for every one dollar provided by the State for projects that improve fishing and boating opportunities.

Project Tampa BayThis major stock enhancement research project began in 1999 to determine the most cost-effective size of hatchery-reared red drum as well as when and where to release them to optimize survival. Beginning March 2000, over four million red drum of three sizes were released into the Alafia and Little Manatee rivers. FWC scientists monitored them from the river nursery habitat through their growth, survival, and movements within and beyond Tampa Bay. The largest hatchery-reared red drum were recaptured about six times more often than the smallest fish. Those released in fall survived better than those released in spring and summer. Anglers returned nickel-size fin-clips so their catch could be genetically identified as wild or of hatchery origin. Project Tampa Bay has ended, and its results will guide future red drum releases in Florida.

Florida Marine Fisheries Enhancement InitiativeIn 2006, FWC received State funding to develop the Florida Marine Fisheries Enhancement Initiative (www.FMFEI.org). The FWC and its public and private partners are obtaining suitable land and funding for marine facilities to restore fish and habitat. Fish will be cultured in indoor recirculating tanks with total environmental control. Such intensive-culture facilities need less land and seawater and have a minimal impact on the environment. FMFEI plans include facilities that will produce aquatic plants for habitat restoration and that will educate Floridians about marine conservation.

June 2010

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute100 8th Avenue SE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • (727) 896-8626 • http://research.MyFWC.com