Ken Schultz's Field Guide to Saltwater Fish - Macaw Pets store

Croaker, White
Genyonemus lineatus
OTHER NAMES
kingfish, king-fish, king
croaker, shiner, Pasadena
trout, tommy croaker, little
bass; Japanese: shiroguchi.
Distribution. White
croaker range from Magdalena
Bay, Baja California,
to Vancouver Island, British
Columbia, but are not
abundant north of San
Francisco.
Habitat. Preferring sandy
bottoms, white croaker
inhabit quiet surf zones,
shallow bays, and lagoons.
Most of the time they are
found in offshore areas at
depths of 10 to 100 feet.
On rare occasions, they are
abundant at depths as
great as 600 feet.
62 Croaker, White
A member of the Sciaenidae family, the white croaker is a
small North American Pacific coast fish. The common name
“croaker” is derived from the voluntary deep croaking
noises made when the fish raps a muscle against the swim
bladder, which acts as an amplifier. The resultant distinctive
drumming noise can be heard from a far distance.
Although the flesh is edible, the white croaker is considered
a nuisance, being easily hooked on most any type of
live bait. Like its cousin the queenfish (Seriphus politus; see:
Queenfish), many white croaker are caught accidentally by
anglers.
Identification. The body of the white croaker is elongate
and compressed. Its head is oblong and bluntly rounded,
and its mouth is somewhat underneath the head. A deep
notch separates the two dorsal fins. Its coloring is iridescent
brown to yellowish on the back, becoming silvery below.
Faint, wavy lines appear over the silvery parts. The fins are
yellow to white.
The white croaker is one of five California croaker that
have subterminal mouths. They can be distinguished from
the California corbina (Menticirrhus undulatus; see: Corbina,
California) and the yellowfin croaker (Umbrina roncador; see:
Croaker, Yellowfin) by the absence of a barbel. The 12 to 15
spines in the first dorsal fin serve to distinguish white
croaker from all the other croaker with subterminal mouths,
as none of these has more than 11 spines in this fin.
Size/Age. The average weight is 1 pound. It is believed
the white croaker can live up to 15 years, although most live
far fewer years.
Food and feeding habits. White croaker consume a variety
of fish, squid, shrimp, octopus, worms, small crabs,
clams, and other items, living or dead.