Walleye Surfperch, Hyperprosopon argenteum
Walleye Surfperch, Hyperprosopon argenteum. Fish caught off the Oceanside Pier, Oceanside, California, April 2006. Length: 13.0 cm (5.1 inches).
Walleye Surfperch, Hyperprosopon argenteum. Fish caught off the Ocean Beach Pier, San Diego, California, January 2019. Length: 13.0 cm (5.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Marc Eberlein, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Walleye Surfperch, Hyperprosopon argenteum. Fish caught from coastal waters off Half Moon Bay, California, September 2023. Length: 15 cm (5.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Peoria, Illinois.
Walleye Surfperch, Hyperprosopon argenteum. Fish caught from coastal waters off the Malibu Pier, Malibu, California. Length: 18 cm (7.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Walleye Surfperch, Hyperprosopon argenteum. Underwater photograph taken within Mission Bay, San Diego, California, July 2020. Photograph and identification courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.
The Walleye Surfperch, Hyperprosopon argenteum, is a member of the Surfperch or Embiotocidae Family, and is known in Mexico as mojarra ojona. There are three global species in the genus Hyperprosopon, and all three are found in Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The Walleye Surfperch has a highly compressed deep oval body with a typical “perch-like” shape that is 43% to 47% of standard length. They are dark blue dorsally and silvery ventrally and on their sides. The margins of their anal and caudal fins are dusky and the tips of their pelvic fins are black (a key to identification). Juveniles have narrow golden vertical bars on their sides. They have a small head, disproportionately large eyes, a small oblique mouth, and a projecting lower jaw that opens in the front. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 30 to 35 rays; their caudal fin is lunate; and, their dorsal fin is continuous with 8 to 10 spines and 25 to 28 rays. They have 28 to 32 gill rakers. Their body is covered with scales. Their lateral line is complete.
The Walleye Surfperch is a demersal fish that is found in the surf and on sand beaches near rocks and around structures such as piers and pilings at depths up to 180 m (600 feet); they are found individually, in small schools, and occasionally in dense schools that consist of several hundred fish. They will enter bays during the summer months. They reach a maximum of 30 cm (12 inches) in length with males and females being of equal length. They are diurnal and feed primarily on small crustaceans. They are preyed upon by California halibut, various sea birds, bottlenose dolphins, and harbor seals. Reproduction is viviparous with mating in pairs that occurs in early winter. Gestation lasts up to 1 year with each female producing five to twelve 4.0 cm (1.6 inch) fry; larger females produce larger litter sizes. Females carry the developing young until they mature. They have lifespans of up to six years.
The Walleye Surfperch is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited distribution being found from Guerrero Negro, Baja California, northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja. In the United States their populations increase significantly northward into Washington State.
The Walleye Surfperch is straightforward to identify due to its perch-like body and striking black-tipped pelvic fins.
From a conservation perspective the Walleye Surfperch has not been formally evaluated. They are a favorite of beginning anglers as they are plentiful and easy to catch. They are considered an important game fish that can be caught in the surf, from rocks, and from piers anywhere along the open coast. They are caught year-round on light tackle with small hooks baited with mussels, pieces of fish, worms, squid or shrimp. They can also be caught on small crappie jigs. They are a major component of the pier fishery of the west coast of the United States. They are deemed a marginal food fish due to their small size and limited meat. They are also used as live bait targeting the California halibut. They were an important food source for Native Americans. Fossil remains indicate that they were present over 1,000,000 years ago.