Black Snook, Centropomus nigrescens. Fish caught off the beach Agua Verde, Baja California Sur, March 2019. Length: 74 cm (2 feet 5 inches). Weight: 7.0 kg (15 lbs 6 oz). Photograph courtesy of Barry Mastro, Escondido, California.

Black Snook, Centropomus nigrescens. Fish caught from coastal waters off Santo Domingo, Baja California Sur, January 2018. Length: 84 cm (2 feet 9 inches). Weight: 7.3 kg (16 lbs). Catch courtesy of Ian  Ian Franck, New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Photographs and identification courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

Black Snook, Centropomus nigrescens.Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2021. Length: 89 cm (2 feet 11 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Bart, The Netherlands  (worldangler.eu).

Black Snook, Centropomus nigrescens. Fish caught from coastal waters off Ardita, Columbia, June 2019. Fork length: 90 cm (2 feet 11 inches). Catch courtesy of Earl Roberts, La Jolla, California. Photograph and identification courtesy of Chris Wheaton, Fullerton, California.

The Black Snook, Centropomus nigrescens, is a member of the Snook or Centropomidae Family, this is also known as the Black Robalo and in Mexico as robalo negro and robalo redondo. 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 Black Snook has an elongated compressed body. They are silvery fish with a prominent black lateral line. Their fins are dusky with the exception of their pectoral and pelvic fins, which have touches of yellow. They have a straight shovel-shaped upper head profile and a large protractile terminal mouth, a protruding lower jaw, and widely separated eyes. Their anal fin has 3 spines, with the second and third being short and of equal length, and 6 rays; their caudal fin is deeply forked; their first dorsal fin has 8 spines, the first and second are exceedingly short; their second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 10 rays;  their pectoral fins have 14 to 16 rays and are very short; and, their pelvic fins have 1 spine and 5 rays are a little behind the pectoral fin base. They have 19 to 23 gill rakers. They have a prominent lateral line.

The Black Snook is found in bays, estuaries, the lower parts of freshwater streams, and where dry river beds meet the ocean (presumably due to subterranean water flow) at depths up to 24 m (80 feet). They are 1 of the 2 large snook found in the Pacific Ocean and reach a maximum of 1.17 m (3 feet 10 inches) in length. As of January 1, 2024, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 27 kg (59 lbs 8 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Costa Rica in March 2014. Note: there is a fish photographed above that has a greater length than is currently known by science. The Black 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 Black Snook is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific but has a limited distribution being found from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, southward along the southwest coast of Baja, in the southern half of the Sea of Cortez, and along the coast of the mainland south to Guatemala. They are more abundant in the southern portions of this range.

The Black Snook is almost identical to, and very easily confused with the White Snook, Centropomus viridis (thinner and lighter body; small gap between eyes, less pronounced lower jaw protrusion, third dorsal spine longer than fourth).

From a conservation perspective the Black Snook is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable widely distributed populations. They are a highly esteemed targeted by recreational anglers normally taken on fly-lined live bait. Due to their white meat, they are considered an excellent food fish.