Common Snook

Common Snook, Centropomus undecimalis

Common Snook, Centropomus undecimalis. Fish caught from coastal waters off Tampa, Florida, March 2012. Length: 56 cm (22 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).

Common Snook, Centropomus undecimalis. Fish caught from coastal waters off Anna Maria Island, Bradenton, Florida, March 2016. Length: 61 cm (2 feet 0 inches). Weight: 9.1 kg (20.0 lbs). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Common Snook, Centropomus undecimalis. Fish caught from coastal waters off Sanibel Island, Florida, March 2016. Length: 59 cm (23 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Marc Eberlein, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Common Snook, Centropomus undecimalis. Fish caught from within the intercoastal waterway, Sebastian, Florida, April 2021. Length: 74 cm (2 feet 5 inch). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Sebastian, Florida.

The Common Snook, Centropomus undecimalis, is a member of the Snook or Centropomidae Family, that is known as robalo blanco. Globally, there are twelve species in the genus Centropomus, and all twelve are found in Mexican waters, six in the Atlantic and six in the Pacific Ocean.

The Common Snook has an oblong, slender, and compressed body that has a depth that is 59% to 64% of head length. They are overall dull gray to yellowish-brown in color and transition to silvery ventrally. They have a prominent black mid-lateral line. Their fins vary in color from dusky to bright yellow. Their head profile is slightly concave. They have a sloping forehead, a protruding lower jaw, and a large mouth that extends to the center of their eyes. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 6 rays with a short base; their first dorsal fin has 8 or 9 spines and is high; their second dorsal fin has 10 rays; their pectoral fins have 15 or 16 rays; and, their pelvic fins do not reach the anus. They have 18 to 24 gill rakers with 8 to 10 on the lower arch. They are covered with 67 to 77 large rough scales above the lateral line.

The Common Snook are a euryhaline species found near-shore in vegetative habitats including mangrove forests, beaches, shore reefs, river mouths, and salt marshes at depths up to 20 m (65 feet). They have a high tolerance for wide ranges of salinity and can be found in freshwater to estuarine to marine environments. Juveniles move from freshwater to salt marshes to seagrass beds as they develop. They also move northward as water temperatures increase. They prefer water temperatures between 25oC (77oF) and 31oC (88oF) and cannot survive if water temperatures go below 12.5oC (55oF) or above 39oC (102oC). They reach a maximum of 1.40 m (4 feet 6 inches) in length with females being larger than males. As of January 1, 2023, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 24.32 kg (53 lbs 10 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Costa Rica in October 1978. They are considered a top predator and are opportunistic carnivores that consume primarily small pelagic fish and supplement their diet with crustaceans including crabs and shrimps. They are preyed upon by dolphins, various birds, and larger fish on a limited basis. They are hermaphrodites and change from male to female at midlife with females being broadcast spawners twice a year. They have lifespans of twenty years. The Common Snook is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Common Snook is found in all Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.

The Common Snook is most likely confused with a series of other snooks from the Atlantic: the Largescale Fat Snook, Centropomus mexicanus (body depth 59% to 64% of head length; 79 to 92 scales above the lateral line), the Mexican Snook, Centropomus poeyi (very short second anal spine), the Smallscale Fat Snook, Centropomus parallelus (very stout second anal spine curving backwards), the Swordspine Snook, Centropomus ensiferus (golden-brown coloration; very long and large second anal spine), and the Tarpon Snook, Centropomus pectinatus (seven anal spines; very long and curved second anal spine).

From a conservation perspective the Common Snook is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. In general their populations are believed to have declined in the last 50 years due to overfishing, cold and warm weather episodes, red tides, and habitat degradation and destruction. They are late-maturing and long-lived fish and thus prone to overfishing. In Mexico, their fishery is currently considered to be at maximum sustainability and therefore at risk. They are the largest, most abundant, and widest ranging of the Atlantic snooks. They are heavily targeted as recreational game fish and are an esteemed food fish. They are favorites of both night fishermen and fly fishermen. Regulations in the southern United States and some Mexican states include seasonal closures, daily bag limits, length restrictions, and a ban on commercial fishing including the use of gill nets in Florida and Texas. They are sold commercially in the United States with fish being imported from Mexico. They can also be found on a limited basis in some large public aquariums. Three United States Navy submarines have been named after this species. Efforts to cultivate this species via aquaculture are currently under development.