Marine - Species - Red Drum

Recreational Fishery in SC

Red drum Recreational Fishery Graph

Recreational red drum total catch has been cyclical over the last 30 years based on varying factors that include year-class strength, changes in regulations, and increased fishing pressure. There has been an increase in total catch in South Carolina since 2002. This is reflected in the recent 10 year average total catch being higher than almost all years prior to 2003. While increases in the population of red drum may be contributing to this increase, increased fishing effort by recreational anglers is likely playing a much larger role in the relative increase in recreational landings. One point to note is the increase in fish released alive since 2003 indicating changes in angler behavior.

There is no commercial fishing for red drum in South Carolina due to their status as a game-fish since 1986.

The recreational catch data is provided by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which conducts phone and angler-intercept surveys to monitor angler activities and catches. For more information see: https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/.

Additional Graph Information

Commercial and recreational catches are measured in number of individuals or pounds of fish caught. Changes in catch among years may be the result of changes in abundance, fishing effort, or a combination of the two.

On each graph, the horizontal dotted lines above or below the "10 year average" represent one "standard deviation" unit, which is a measure of how variable the annual data are around the 10-year average. In general, the area between one standard deviation above the mean and one standard deviation below the mean includes approximately 68% of all values. Approximately 95% of observations in the data set are found within two standard deviation units of the average and is referred to as the prediction interval.