Examination of freshwater drum populations at the center of their latitudinal range: implications for development of diverse recreational angling opportunities

Abstract

Freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens Rafinesque, 1819) are found from Canada, through the central United States, and in Atlantic drainages of Mexico and Guatemala. Although populations are broadly distributed, locally abundant, and can produce individuals over 23 kg, the species is often not considered desirable among recreational anglers and, as such, not often studied by researchers. To inform future management of the species, populations occurring at the center of the species latitudinal range, Kansas, United States, were examined. Freshwater drum up to 600 mm were distributed across the eastern 2/3 of the state in variable abundance. Angler surveys at large impoundments from 2015 to 2022 indicated 4.4% of all fish captured were freshwater drum and the species comprised 1.2% of total fish harvest estimated from those surveys. Individual ages were assessed from two populations suggesting individuals as old as age 42 in Glen Elder and age 28 in Tuttle Creek. Instantaneous natural mortality estimates were 0.161 and 0.207 for Glen Elder and Tuttle Creek populations, respectively. Recruitment was variable in both populations but demonstrated similar multiyear cyclical patterns. Harvest modeling suggested recruitment overfishing may start to occur at 10 to 15% angling exploitation under liberal minimum length limits but 20 to 40% under more conservative minimum length limits. Results from this study highlight the status of freshwater drum populations and fisheries at the center of their latitudinal range and provide information that could inform development of species management plans rangewide. Additionally, this study provides a template that can be applied to similar underutilized native species that may be capable of supporting recreational fisheries in a changing future.