Louisiana Saltwater Anglers Asked to Complete Online Survey on Red Drum Management Options

Louisiana - The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has announced the launch of a web-based survey to solicit public feedback on Red Drum (Redfish) management choices.

Prior to making recommendations to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, the LDWF is conducting a survey on Red Drum management options (LWFC). This survey is an extra effort to obtain public input on management choices; previous to making this survey available online, LDWF conducted an email survey mailed to more than 10,000 randomly selected resident saltwater license holders.

LDWF's recent Red Drum assessment in Louisiana demonstrates that, while the spawning stock remains above limits, too few fish are surviving to join the offshore spawning population, necessitating management measures. An "escapement" rate is used to calculate the juvenile fraction of the Red Drum stock. Escapement is the percentage of juvenile Red Drum that pass through the recreational fishing (there is no commercial fisheries for Red Drum in Louisiana) and make it to the breeding stock offshore. The established management escapement rate limit is 30%; Louisiana's escapement rate is at 20%, indicating that too few Red Drum are surviving to spawn offshore. LDWF must act to bring the population back up to (or above) the minimal escapement level. They are considering a number of management modifications in order to lower harvest levels and allow the stock to recuperate.

According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, public opinion is an important step in the fishery management process. They will consolidate the information they get from all public input venues and submit a summary of angler preferences to the LWFC for its consideration since they have determined many management alternatives that will allow the Red Drum stock to potentially recover.

LDWF advises the public to evaluate the information available by following this link to understand more about the state of Red Drum and these prospective management measures.

Follow this link to take the Red Drum Management Options Survey

Your participation in this poll is completely anonymous. Please contact Jack Isaacs at [email protected] with any questions or comments about the survey.