Striped Corvina, Cynoscion reticulatus

Striped Corvina, Cynoscion reticulatus. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos area, Baja California Sur, May 2018. Length:  26 cm (10 inches).

Striped Corvina, Cynoscion reticulatus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, June 2021. Length: 40 cm (16 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Striped Corvina, Cynoscion reticulatus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, April 2008. Length: 42 cm (17 inches). Identification courtesy of Dr. Ross Robertson, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama and reconfirmed by H.J. Walker, Jr., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California.

Striped Corvina, Cynoscion reticulatus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur, January 2017. Length: 59 cm (23 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

The Striped Corvina, Cynoscion reticulatus, is a member of the Croaker or Sciaenidae Family, and is known in Mexico as corvina rayada. Globally, there are twenty-four species in the genus Cynoscion, of which thirteen are found in Mexican waters, three in the Atlantic and ten in the Pacific Ocean.

The Striped Corvina has an elongated deep compressed body with an oval cross-section. They have a silvery coloration with brownish wavy streaks on their back and sides and a pale band along their lateral line. The base of their pectoral fin is dark, their dorsal and pectoral fins are dusky, and all their other fins are yellowish. Their head is conical with a large oblique mouth that extends below the middle of the eyes. They, like many other croakers have orange mouths. They do not have a chin barbel. Their anal fin has 2 spines and 9 rays; their caudal fin has a straight margin; their first dorsal fin has 9 spines; their second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 25 to 29 rays and a long base; and, their pectoral fins are long and reach beyond the pelvic fins. They have 6 to 8 lower gill rakers. They are covered with rough scales.

The Striped Corvina is a demersal species that is found over sandy bottoms along the shore, in the surf zone, and in inshore bays and estuaries at depths up to 107 m (350 feet). They reach a maximum of 90 cm (2 feet 11 inches) in length. As of January 1, 2024, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 1.13 kg (2 lbs 8 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Mazatlan, Sinaloa in February 2001. The Striped Corvina 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 Striped Corvina is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean with the exception that they are absent from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja.

The Striped Corvina is very similar in appearance to a series of other croakers, however, it is the only corvina with striping on its back.

From a conservation perspective the Striped Corvina is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are caught recreational anglers on cut bait (clams, squid, mullet, etc.) with small hooks and bottom rigs. They are also caught in gill nets by artisanal fishermen. They are viewed by locals as excellent table fare.