Black Drum

The most recent coastwide benchmark stock assessment for black drum, which incorporated data through 2020, was accepted in 2023 by the Sciaenids Management Board for management use. Based on assessment results, the black drum stock is not overfished and not experiencing overfishing. Management action was not taken because there are no major concerns with the stock.

The assessment model uses recreational CPUE as an index of abundance, total fishery removals (commercial landings, recreational harvest, and recreational dead discards), life history information, and selectivity information to estimate black drum spawning biomass and exploitation (i.e., the proportion of stock biomass removed by fishing), as well as their associated thresholds. The assessment model estimated increasing spawning biomass, which has remained above the spawning biomass threshold throughout the time series. Exploitation has remained below the exploitation threshold throughout the time series. Exploitation was estimated to be relatively high in the mid-1980s, followed by lower levels throughout the 1990s. Exploitation increased around 2000 and remained at a higher, stable level throughout the remainder of the time series. Overall, black drum remains a data poor stock and the assessment acknowledges a relatively high level of uncertainty in available data sets and population estimates, although there is greater certainty in qualitative stock status determinations.

Due to data limitations and assessment uncertainty, a suite of indicators from black drum data sets developed as part of this assessment will be used to annually monitor the stock for any concerning trends and identify the need for an expedited stock assessment. Indicators include eight indices of abundance, one index of range expansion, and six indices of fishery characteristics (i.e., regional catch time series). The assessment reviewed the indicators through 2020. The indicators showed increased fishery removals in the last twenty years and less frequent large recruitment events in the Mid-Atlantic in the last ten years. There were no clear indications of a declining trend in abundance from abundance indicators, but there was a declining trend in the final two years of the recreational releases time series that may be reflective of abundance in addition to other factors. There is some indication of northern range expansion. In 2024, the indicators were updated with an additional year of data, 2023. Overall, the TC did not believe the updated indicator values deviated far enough outside of the historical range to cause concern, though increases in recreational and commercial landings were noted in the South Atlantic. 

With sizes reaching over 46 inches in length and 120 pounds in weight, black drum are drawing increasing interest from recreational anglers, particularly as a catch and release fishery. Outside of a large peak in 2008, recreational and commercial landings have remained fairly stable since 2000, with recreational landings far exceeding (typically 20-30 times) those of commercial (by weight).

On average, in the past 10 years (2014-2023), recreational landings made up approximately 96% of the total coastwide harvest. Recreational landings in 2023 were 5.2 million pounds, or 1.2 million fish, with landed fish constituting roughly 31% of all black drum caught by the fishery. The other 69% of recreationally caught fish were released alive, largely due to the establishment of the Fishery Management Plan in 2013. In 2023, 2.7 million fish were released alive. Florida, followed by North Carolina, landed and released the majority of recreational harvest in 2023.

The commercial fishery landed 347,506 pounds in 2023. North Carolina and Virginia fisheries comprised the majority of total commercial harvest.