Quote:
Originally Posted by "W"
Reds No, 5 reds are plenty plus a Red fish takes years to reach a mature age to spawn, most females don't spawn until they are over 25inchs long
Black Drum on the other hand, it's not a sport fish and we should have no limit on them at all
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Using only life history tidbits to establish limits is less than scientific. One should be able to show that a limit is needed to ensure sufficient females reach spawning age. Since redfish became protected in federal waters, the number of replacement breeders needed each year is much, much smaller. The breeding stock would be maintained with much smaller escapement rates than occurring at the present time. Fecundity rates would actually be higher if there were fewer mature redfish, allowing the sexually mature redfish to eat better, maintain healthier weights, and thus produce more eggs. Redfish that are hungry (due to overpopulation) do not produce nearly as many eggs.