Columbia, S.C. – Coastal Conservation Association South Carolina (CCA SC) applauds the introduction this week of S.961, a bill that has at its root the sustainability of South Carolina’s most sought after inshore gamefish, red drum. Charleston Senator Chip Campsen’s proposal comes on the heels of last year’s state and regional stock assessment by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASFMC), confirming the species is being overfished and overfishing is occurring; two distinctions in fisheries management reserved for a troubled stock. The measure, if adopted, would reduce the recreational creel limit for red drum from two fish to one fish per person per day and shift the current slot limit (15-23 inches) to 18-25 inches. The measure would also adjust the boat limit from six fish to two.

“The management of red drum in the Palmetto State has consistently been a story about proper stewardship,” said Tombo Milliken, Chairman of CCA SC’s Government Relations Committee. “Recreational anglers have demonstrated again and again that acting in the long-term interest of the resource has always been the desired course. Support for this proposal in front of us now confirms that commitment”.

Over the last 16-18 months, both the SCDNR and the ASMFC ran concurrent red drum benchmark stock assessments, the results of which have been made available and shared with the public. Red drum are regionally managed in cooperation with the ASMFC via a fishery management plan that allows the states flexibility in setting their plan specifics (size limits, creel limits, seasons, etc.) while meeting certain criteria. The ASMFC plan kept in place a key management goal of a regional spawning potential ratio (SPR) of 40 percent for the species. That rate has fluctuated for more than two decades in South Carolina waters and has fallen to a low of approximately 14 percent in 2023; a number that should be truly alarming to all anglers. South Carolina has encountered low numbers in the past, sparking change as far back as 2001. With the cooperation of decision makers, fisheries managers, and the recreational angling public, state management measures were pursued that emphasized red drum restoration while still maintaining a viable fishery for South Carolina’s recreational fishing community.

“We have reached an inflection point in the management of red drum and clearly, we need to do what is in the best interest for the long-term stability of this valuable resource,” said Scott Whitaker, CCA SC executive director. “This is a responsible stewardship action to take given the most recent science, the ubiquitous challenges of the fishery, and the reverence this species holds among anglers in the state”.