ROBERT L. COLURA AND ROBERTA BUCKLEY, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Perry R. Bass Marine Fisheries Station, Palacios, Texas, USA

Red drum Sciaenops ocellatus age and growth in Texas was investigated. Von Bertalanffy growth models fitted for each bay differed (PŁ0.05) among bays, with only two exceptions. However, the models predicted similar lengths at age and a single coast-wide von Bertalanffy growth model which includes mature fish from offshore is recommended for use in future management of Texas red drum. The within bay growth rate of Texas red drum is slower than growth rates reported for Florida and North Carolina red drum. This is possibly due to regional environmental differences.