Abstract

Red drum Sciaenops ocellatus were randomly sampled from among large schools captured with purse seine gear during the National Marine Fisheries Service tag-recapture efforts of 1986-1988 (1980s) and 1997-1998 (1990s) in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Totals of 1,352 specimens from the 1980s sampling and 929 specimens from the 1990s sampling were provided for age analysis. Ages estimated from counts of otolith annuli ranged from 2 to 35 years and from 2 to 42 years in the 1980s and 1990s, respectively. The 1980s sample population was dominated by individuals from the 1971-1974 cohorts while the 1990s population was largely composed of specimens from the 1990-1993 cohorts. Fork length data indicate a recent decrease in size at age among younger red drum. Compared during maximum growth early in life (age 3.5 - 6 years), red drum captured in the 1990s were on average 91 % - 93 % the length of specimens taken in the 1980s.

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