. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. A. or years, researchers have been tagging along with red drum. While collecting data from tags attached to red drum, a team of biologists determined that a fish had traveled more than 188 miles — from being tagged at the Avon Fishing Pier on Hatteras Island — to its recapture in the Chesapeake Bay. Researchers also found that the average distance between tagging and recapture locations for adult red drum — the state's saltwater fish — is 20 nautical miles. And the longest time a red drum was in the water
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. A. or years, researchers have been tagging along with red drum. While collecting data from tags attached to red drum, a team of biologists determined that a fish had traveled more than 188 miles — from being tagged at the Avon Fishing Pier on Hatteras Island — to its recapture in the Chesapeake Bay. Researchers also found that the average distance between tagging and recapture locations for adult red drum — the state's saltwater fish — is 20 nautical miles. And the longest time a red drum was in the water between tagging and recapture was nearly 12 years. The data also reveal the size of red drum caught by fishers, as well as the mortality rate, according to Summer Burdick, the 2005-2006 marine fisheries management fellow for North Carolina Sea Grant and the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). "By knowing the portion of tagged red drum recaptured in various class sizes, fishery managers can estimate the size of fish most commonly caught by commercial and recreational fishermen using various gear types," says Burdick. North Carolina State University professors Jeff Buckel, Joe Hightower and Ken Pollock, as well as NC State graduate student Nate Bacheler and DMF biologist Lee Paramore also are on the research team. Commercial fishers primarily use gill and pound nets to catch red drum, while recreational anglers prefer a hook-and-line. "Preliminary results show that fishers use gill nets and hook-and-line to catch legal size red drum from 18 to 27 inches," says Buckel. "In comparison, red drum that are 18 inches long or less are being caught in pound nets and ; Estimates of size selectivity and mortality rate can be used to estimate the total number of fish harvested, says Bacheler. This information can help fishery managers maintain a stable population of North Carolina red drum, he adds. State fisheries managers estimate that r
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionunclibra, booksubjectoceanography
