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WILMINGTON, NC — The N.C. Marine Patrol arrested two fishermen after they were found with more than 16 times the legal possession limit of red drum.

According to the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, two Marine Patrol Sgts. found the catch when they stopped a truck towing a boat in the 7000 block of Market Street in Wilmington Monday afternoon.

When the officers inspected the contents of the truck, they found 113 red drum weighing 657-pounds, including 14 fish that were greater than the legal size limit and weighed 106-pounds. They also found 100-pounds of striped mullet, 101-pounds of spotted seatrout, six-pounds of black drum and two-pounds of flounder.

In North Carolina, commercial fishermen are not allowed to target red drum, but they are allowed to retain seven red drum caught incidentally when targeting other species as long as the weight of the striped mullet, bluefish or black drum on board exceeds the weight of the red drum. The minimum size limit is 18 inches and the maximum size limit is 27 inches.

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