Red Drum Regulations in Mississippi (2026)

Where

Statewide

Size limit

Length in inches: 18 TL to 30 TL * (minimum to maximum) | Title 22: Red Drum – eighteen (18) inches (total length).

Bag limit

Number of Fish Bag/Possession: Quota *** | Title 22, Part 3, Rule 8.1(I): The annual Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for commercial landings of Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) will be set at sixty thousand (60,000) pounds. The commercial fishing season for landing Red Drum will commence on January 1st and end on December 31st of each year. The commercial TAC for the fishing season is divided into three four month periods as follows: 1. January 1st – April 30th twenty thousand pounds (20,000); 2. May 1st – August 31st twenty thousand pounds (20,000); 3. September 1st – December 31st twenty thousand pounds (20,000). In the event the commercial TAC is not met or exceeded in any time period, the pounds will be added or subtracted to the following time period. | Title 22, Part 3, Rule 8.1(S): It is unlawful for commercial fishermen to possess more than one (1) Red Drum exceeding thirty (30) inches total length for a single day's catch.

Possession

Number of Fish Bag/Possession: Quota ***

Season

*** The season will run from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 each year. Total allowable catch limits (TAC) are 74,000 pounds of Flounder; 60,000 pounds of Red Drum; and 50,000 pounds for Spotted Seatrout. When landing reports, as required by law, show the TAC has been reached for a given species, MDMR will, with adequate notice, issue a news release and public notice closing state waters to commercial fishing for that species for the remainder of that fishing year. | Title 22, Part 3, Rule 8.1(I): The annual Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for commercial landings of Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) will be set at sixty thousand (60,000) pounds. The commercial fishing season for landing Red Drum will commence on January 1st and end on December 31st of each year. The commercial TAC for the fishing season is divided into three four month periods as follows: 1. January 1st – April 30th twenty thousand pounds (20,000); 2. May 1st – August 31st twenty thousand pounds (20,000); 3. September 1st – December 31st twenty thousand pounds (20,000). In the event the commercial TAC is not met or exceeded in any time period, the pounds will be added or subtracted to the following time period. | Commercial Quota page (https://dmr.ms.gov/commercial-quota/): RED DRUM: JANUARY - DECEMBER 2026 Total Allowable Quota 60,000 LBS. Catch Total 52,781 LBS. STATUS OPEN

• ♦♦ Commercial fisherman may retain only one Red Drum over 30 inches TL.
• * Range represents minimum and maximum lengths.
• *** The season will run from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 each year. Total allowable catch limits (TAC) are 74,000 pounds of Flounder; 60,000 pounds of Red Drum; and 50,000 pounds for Spotted Seatrout. When landing reports, as required by law, show the TAC has been reached for a given species, MDMR will, with adequate notice, issue a news release and public notice closing state waters to commercial fishing for that species for the remainder of that fishing year.
• Size differs between the Commercial Catch Limits page (18 TL to 30 TL) and Title 22 Part 3 Rule 8.1(A)(1); Title 22 values are used ('Regulatory language listed in associated parts of Title 22 supersedes information listed below').
• Title 22, Part 3, Rule 3.1 It is unlawful to commercially take finfish from the marine waters north of the CSX bridges in the three (3) coastal counties of Mississippi, except for any euryhaline species of minnow in the Pascagoula River system.
• Title 22, Part 3, Rule 4.1 Vessel Decal Requirements A. The seafood privilege tax license decal must be displayed on each vessel engaged in commercial fishing activities but will not be valid without the proper commercial harvester’s license. The decal must be displayed next to the state registration number or federal documentation number. B. The seafood privilege tax license decal must be displayed on each vessel engaged in charter fishing activities but will not be valid without the proper Mississippi charter license. The decal must be displayed next to the state registration number or federal documentation number.
• Federal Regulations may differ from state regulations. Please refer to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council for Federal Regulations at (888) 833-1844 or www.gulfcouncil.org.
• NOTE: Fishing seasons for some species may be closed by order of the Commission on Marine Resources. Advance notice of such closures will be given.
• Regulatory language listed in associated parts of Title 22 supersedes information listed below.

Official source