Golden Croaker, Micropogonias altipinnis

Golden Croaker, Micropogonias altipinnis. Fish provided by the commercial fishermen of Bahía Kino, Sonora, March 2015. Length: 22 cm (8.7 inches). Note the unusual strongly serrated gill cover in the photo above. Photograph courtesy of Maria Johnson, Prescott College Kino Bay Center, Kino Bay, Sonora.

Golden Croaker, Micropogonias altipinnis. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, June 2021. Length: 20 cm (7.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Chris Moore, Peoria, Arizona.

Golden Croaker, Micropogonias altipinnis. A key to a correct identification. Photograph courtesy of Chris Moore, Peoria, Arizona.

Golden Croaker, Micropogonias altipinnis. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, October 2020. Length: 20 cm (7.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).

Golden Croaker, Micropogonias altipinnis. Fish caught off the dock of the Old Mazatlán Marina, Sinaloa, October 2017. Length: 25 cm (10 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Golden Croaker, Micropogonias altipinnis.Fish caught by commercial fishermen from coastal waters within Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, May 2018. Length: 26 cm (10 inches).

Golden Croaker, Micropogonias altipinnis. Fish caught from coastal waters of Gonzaga Bay, Baja California, April 2018. Length: 27 cm (11 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Ben Cantrell, San Diego, California.

Slender Croaker, Micropogonias ectenes. Fish caught from coastal waters off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, June 2013. Length: 64 cm (25 inches); weight: 6.4 kg (14 lbs). Photograph courtesy of Jason Potts, Mazatlán. Identification courtesy of H.J. Walker, Jr., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California, and based on the dorsal fin ray counts in the photo above.

The Golden Croaker, Micropogonias altipinnis, is a member of the Croaker or Sciaenidae Family, that is also known as the Highfin Croaker and the Tallfin Croaker and in Mexico as chano sureño. Globally there are six global members of the genus Micropogonias, of which one is found Mexican waters, all in the Pacific Ocean.  Note:  the Micropogonias genus has recently been overhauled the Gulf Croaker, Micropogonias megalops, and the Slender Croaker, Micropogonias ectenes, are now both considered to be Golden Croaker.

The Golden Croaker has an elongated moderately compressed body. They have a silvery coloration and a golden hue associated with the scale rows above the lateral line, which creates brown longitudinal streaks. Their fins are generally yellowish, however, their caudal and dorsal fins are dusky. Their head features a prominent snout, a small mouth under the snout, thin lips, simple teeth, relatively small eyes, four or five small barbels along the inner side of their lower jaw, and a strong serrated gill cover with two prominent spines. Their anal fin has 2 spines, the second being robust and longer than half the length of the first anal ray, and 7 or 8 rays; their caudal fin has a short blunt point with a slightly concave upper lobe; and, their first dorsal fin has 10 spines and is tall and reaching beyond the origin of the second dorsal fin when depressed; their second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 19 to 23 rays. They have 23 to 27 gill rakers. Their body is covered with large scales.

The Golden Croaker is a benthopelagic species found along sandy shores and in bays, estuaries, and lagoons at depths up to 104 m (340 feet). They reach a maximum of 80 cm (2 feet 7 inches) in length. As of December 1, 2025, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 1.1 kg (2 lbs 8 oz) with the fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, May 2025. They are voracious ambush predators feeding on small fish and squid. The Golden Croaker is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, diet, growth, habitat, longevity, movement patterns, and reproduction.

The Golden Croaker is widespread in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and are found in all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean with the exception that they are absent from north of Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, along the central and northwest coasts of the Baja Peninsula.

The Golden Croaker is a straightforward identification that cannot be confused with any other species.

From a conservation perspective the Golden Croaker is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are an esteemed food fish caught primarily with trawls and seines and sold fresh in local marke