FFI Gulf Coast Council

At last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC), LDWF marine fisheries biologist Jason Adriance gave the most recent assessment on red drum stocks in the state.  The report summarized that, while spawning stocks of redfish are still above the conservation standard, the number has been declining since 2005 as fewer redfish escape to spawning size.  And unless management changes are initiated soon, we could see a situation where the fishery is unsustainable.

Red drum spawning potential ratio

Red drum are unique in that the vast majority of harvest are juvenile fish.  These immature fish are typically under 4 to 5 years of age, under 27 inches in length, and under 10 pounds in weight.  When a redfish reaches 4 to 5 years of age, it usually migrates to nearshore or offshore waters to join the spawning population.  To protect these spawning stocks, recreational harvest of mature redfish in federal waters is not allowed and severely limited in state waters.  Current regulations for Louisiana are 5 fish per day, 16 to 27 inches only, with one exception over 27 inches.

Red drum escapement to spawning stock

By far, redfish are the most popular species among saltwater fly fishermen in the state – and from elsewhere.  Louisiana has been described in numerous publications as the “Redfish Capitol of the World” and supports at least a few dozen flyfishing charter services that put clients on fish in shallow water for a sightcasting experience found only in a few places (mainly Texas and South Carolina).  The state hosts numerous redfish tournaments each year including many kayak tournaments, and has even hosted the prestigious Hobie World Championship event.  Most of these events have in recent years moved to a CPR format for conservation purposes.

Scenario 1: Increase escapement based on creel only

The assessment came as no surprise to veteran redfish anglers.  There’s been loads of anecdotal evidence to support that fishing for reds “ain’t what it used to be”.   Coming just months after an assessment on spotted seatrout (specks) that indicated management changes were needed for that species as well, the reasons given for specks being much the same for redfish.   Those include:  loss of habitat (especially diverse habitat), decline of available forage (yep, that menhaden issue again), and increased fishing pressure.  Regarding the latter, it should be noted that the current regulations ( 5 fish per day, 16 to 27 inches only, with one exception over 27 inches)  were established 34 years ago in 1988.  The numbers of saltwater anglers in the state, the amount of fishing effort, and the expertise and technology to improve fishing success have all increased dramatically since then.

Management thresholds for red drum have been established by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council  (GMFMC).   For Louisiana, the conservation standard is a 20 percent spawning potential ratio, based on a 30 percent escapement rate.  While currently we have a 40 percent SPR, the escapement rate estimate is 20 percent.  And because there is a time lag between escapement and recruitment, this means we’ll likely see a further decline in fishing for a few years until any restrictive measures kick in.

Scenario 2: Increase escapement going to 18″ min slot but retaining 1 over maximum

Adriance and his team also provided the Commission with numerous scenarios for management changes to get red drum back above the conservation standards.  These came in the form of tables and graphs with different harvest numbers, slot sizes, and retaining or removing the one-exception over the maximum slot size.  The charts shown on the left are a few of the ones we think point to a case where the most benefit with the least amount of “pain”.

To summarize, it appears that increasing the minimum size length from 16 to 18 inches has much more benefit than lowering the maximum size of 27 inches.  Also, there appears to be less benefit moving the minimum up above 18.  Lowering the daily creel from 5 to 4 … or even 3 fish has ample benefit as well.  Surprisingly, a significant benefit comes from eliminating the one daily exception above the maximum slot limit.

Scenario 3: Increase escapement going to 18″ min slot but eliminating one over max

Looking at the charts, one can see that, if the new regulation were to be 3 fish per day, 18 to 27 inches, with no exception above 27 inches, then redfish SPR and escapement should once again be above the conservation standard in a few years.

The FFI GCC Conservation Committee will meet shortly to discuss the Louisiana redfish issue, and hopefully come up with a recommendation that will best serve to bring the species to quick recovery while giving our members a quality fishery for decades to come.

Yesterday at their October meeting, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission adopted a Notice of Intent (NOI) to change speckled trout regulations.

• Current: 12-inch minimum size / 25 daily bag limit
• Proposed: 13.5-inch minimum size / 15 daily bag limit

When adopted, this rule will become statewide, removing the separate regulations in coastal western Louisiana.  The Commission’s adoption of an NOI is the first step in promulgating a final rule, which is usually adopted in 90 days. Comments to the proposed rule may be submitted before December 30, 2022. The full notice of intent can be found here:
http://ow.ly/SvVo50L3FZe

At the Commission meeting, biologist Jason Adriance reiterated some of the data given since the issue of recruitment failure arose three years ago. He also addressed some of the comments received during the past weeks. With regards to concerns that increasing size would result in much greater propotional harvest of females to males, his data showed that increasing to 13.5 inches would only result in a 3 percent increase greater harvest. With regards to concerns that guide limits contribute to a substantial harvest, the data showed that eliminating guide limits would have less than 1-percent increase in spawning biomass.

Adriance pointed out that we are at our lowest proportion of age 3+ fish in the history of stock assessment, with only 5-percent of female trout reaching age 3. This is critical because, at age 3 or roughly 14 inches, all female trout have spawned at least one season, and in some cases, 2 seasons. At 13.5 inches and a 15-fish limit, the increase in spawning stock would be 20 percent – the goal needed to recover to above the conservation standard.

Nearly all of the 20 persons who commented after the presentation were in favor of a 15 daily bag limit. There was approximately 2-to-1 in favor of keeping the minimum size limit at 12 inches. Many of the respondents stated that Louisiana needs to fix the problems that are causing reduced numbers of trout and even redfish. Among the causes cited: coastal erosion, pollution, menhaden overharvest, freshwater diversions, too many sharks, etc.. As pointed out by Commission members, these are beyond the scope of LDWF and will likely take much longer to resolve, and for now, changing limits is the only viable solution.

The FFI Gulf Coast Council had supported a 14-inch minimum size limit, with either a 15-fish or 20-fish bag limit. Either bag limit would’ve elevated to well above the conservation standard. However, a 13.5″, 15-trout limit will suffice and we plan to endorse the NOI fully. We strongly encourage ALL FFI members and members of FFI clubs to join along with us, and email your support for the biologists recommendation.

At their upcoming monthly meeting on Thursday, October 6, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission will consider a Notice of Intent (NOI) to modify limits on speckled trout. Currently the daily bag limit is 25 fish with a 12 inch minimum size, except for the Calcasieu/Sabine estuaries where the daily limit is 15.   A NOI is a proposal that must go through a period of public comment for 90 days, after which it can be voted on by the Commission into regulation.

As we’ve documented here before (CLICK HERE), the recruitment of spawning spotted seatrout in Louisiana has been below the conservation standard for nearly 8 years.  Many of us have witnessed first-hand the decline in speckled trout fishing over the past decade.  There are several factors for this, but none of the solutions can be easily addressed.

At this time, the only viable solution is to increase the number of juvenile trout entering the fishery. LDWF biologists have proposed several scenarios which encompass either (a) increasing the size limit, (b) lowering the daily creel limit, (c) some combination of both.

After attending the first trout assessment meeting and a couple of public meetings involving the issue, we at the FFI Gulf Coast Council drafted a letter of support for a 14-inch minimum size limit, with either a 15 or 20 fish daily bag limit.  We continue to support a 14-inch minimum size limit as the only viable solution to this problem.

Our friends at CCA Louisiana are pushing for a 12-inch, 15 daily bag limit.  Their press release stated, “The CCA Louisiana’s Science Committee and many others have concerns about the impact on female trout if a shift to a larger minimum size adjustment occurs. Moving to a 13-inch or 13.5-inch minimum size seems drastic and unnecessary. Such a change could damage the female population, and have tremendous negative impacts…”.

As you can see from the graph, CCA’s position is not only invalid, but their language is overly dramatic. Yes, male trout grow slower and not as large as female trout. But a male trout reaches 14 inches only a few months after its female counterpart. After which, there are nearly equal numbers of harvestable male trout as there are female trout, even if the average male size is smaller than the female for a given age.

What’s more, CCA’s science doesn’t jive with the science of fisheries managers of 9 other states that regulate spotted seatrout. NONE of those states have a minimum size less than 14 inches. What does CCA know that they don’t?

Here’s what we on the GCC Conservation Committee know: that at 14 inches, a female trout has spawned several times and laid more than sufficient eggs to perpetuate the species even under moderately-high fishing pressure.  And that, based on the LDWF biologists data, retaining a 12-inch limit would have minimal effect unless the daily limit is drastically lowered  (like to 10 fish).

Please let the LWF Commission know what you support a 14″ minimum size limit. We also encourage members to attend the Commission meeting on October 6th at 9:30 at LDWF Headquarters on 2000 Quail Dr in Baton Rouge, or to email your comments at comments@wlf.la.gov