White Snook, Centropomus viridis
White Snook, Centropomus viridis. Fish caught from coastal waters off Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, December 2020. Length: 74 cm (2 feet 5 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Josh Leisen (joshadventures.com), Gaylord, Michigan.
White Snook, Centropomus viridis. Fish caught within Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, October 2019. Length: 99 cm (3 feet 3 inches).
White Snook, Centropomus viridis. Fish caught from coastal waters off Vedanta, Nuevo Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, December 2020 aboard TOPLESS II. Photograph and idenatification courtesy of Greg Pilkington, High Spirited Adventures, Puerto Vallarta.
White Snook, Centropomus viridis. Fish caught off the San José River mouth, Baja California Sur, June 2012. Length: 1.22 m (4 feet 0 inches). Second photo illustrates the key to the identification, the third dorsal spine being longer than the fourth noting that the first two dorsal spines are exceedingly short. Fish caught with Captain Jorge of the La Leona Fleet, Palmilla Beach, with Manager Julio Zumaya holding the fish.
White Snook, Centropomus viridis. Fish caught off the San José River mouth, Baja California Sur, November 2016. Length: 1.01 m (3 feet 4 inches). Fish caught with Captain Alejandro of the La Leona Fleet, Palmilla Beach, with Manager Julio Zumaya holding the fish.
White Snook, Centropomus viridis. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters off Loreto, Baja California Sur, October 2024. Photograph courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.
The White Snook, Centropomus viridis, is a member of the Snook or Centropomidae Family, and is known in Mexico as robalo plateado or simply robalo. 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 White 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, a large protractile terminal mouth, a protruding lower jaw, and widely separated eyes. Their anal fin has 3 spines, the second and third are short and of equal length and 6 rays; their caudal fin is forked, their first dorsal fin has 8 spines, the third dorsal spine is longer than the fourth (a key to identification); their second dorsal fin has 1 spine and 8 to 10 rays; their pectoral fins have 14 to 16 rays and are very short; and, their pelvic fins have 1 spine and 5 rays and are a little behind the pectoral fin base. They have 19 to 23 gill rakers on the first arch. They are covered with scales.
The White 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 reach a maximum of 1.22 m (4 feet 0 inches) in length, established by a fish photographed below, and just under 25 kg (55 lbs) in weight. As of January 1, 2024, the International Game Fish Association world record stood at 23.3 kg (51 lbs 5 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur in June 2021. The White 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 White Snook is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean and are 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 White Snook is one of two large Snooks residing in the Pacific Ocean. It is almost identical to, and very easily confused with, the Black Snook, Centropomus nigrescens (wider and heavier body; large gap between eyes; lower jaw protrusion more pronounced; third and fourth dorsal spines of equal length).
From a conservation perspective the White Snook is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are targeted by both recreational anglers and commercial fishermen. They are considered to be an excellent food fish.