DID YOU KNOW: The white croaker use to be so easily caught in some areas it was considered a nuisance.
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Genyonemus lineatus, from Greek genys or lower jaw, nema meaning barbel, and Latin lineatus or striped.
COMMON NAMES: Kingfish, king croaker, tommy, and weakfish.
DESCRIPTION: The croaker is a deep-bodied silvery fish with a deep body, a high back, two dorsal fins and a round nose. It has small barbels on its lower jaw. It can reach 12 to 15 years in age, grow over 15 inches in length and weigh well over a pound.
LIFE CYCLE: Adults spawn in near-shore shallow waters, from November until May. Fertilized eggs (800 to 37,000 per female) drift into shallow areas of bays and estuaries. After about one week the eggs hatch and the young migrate to the bottom. Juvenile fish progressively move to deeper and deeper water as they mature. Most juveniles fish reach maturity in one year.
RANGE: Baja California to Vancouver Island, BC. Most abundant south of San Francisco Bay.
HABITAT AND ECOLOGY: The white croaker is an abundant near shore species that prefers the sandy bottoms of bays and estuaries and the area just outside the surf zone. Croakers are an omnivorous species; they will eat just about anything they can and prefer to feed at night. They are preyed on by sea lions, dolphin, sea bass, and tuna. The croaker spends most of its time in waters less than 30 meters deep, schooling and feeding near the sandy bottom. Because it prefers waters less than 30 meters deep and will eat just about anything, it is very susceptible to human impacts. Polluted effluents from bays and estuaries, and pollution from sewage outlets tend to concentrate in near shore areas of the ocean. The croaker accumulates these contaminants in its tissues from the food it eats, and some fisheries have had to be temporarily closed due to health threats to humans.
ECONOMIC VALUE: About 947,000 pounds of white croaker were caught by sport anglers in California in 1994. The croaker is also sold fresh-market, and as a bait fish. U.S. commercial landings of croaker have averaged over 6.8 million pounds a year from 1989-93.