Common snook 



Centropomus undecimalis 

 Adult 



10 cm 



(from Fischer 1978) 



Scientific Name: Centropomus undecimalis 



Common Name: common snook 



Other Common Names: gulf pike, salt water pike, 



linesider, snook robalo (Higgins and Lord 1 926, Hoese 



and Moore 1977, Rivas 1986); crossie blanc (French), 



robalo comun, robalo bianco (Spanish) (Fischer 1 978, 



NOAA1985). 



Classification (Robins et al. 1991) 



Phylum: Chordata 



Class: Osteichthyes 



Order: Perciformes 



Family: Centropomidae 



Value 



Commercial : The common snook is harvested through- 

 out much of its range (Hildebrand 1 958, Tucker 1 986). 

 In the U.S., it was caught commercially on a small scale 

 in Texas and Florida at one time, but declining numbers 

 led to a ban on commercial landings in Florida in 1 958, 

 and to its virtual disappearance in Texas with the last 

 commercially landed fish reported there in 1 961 (Higgins 

 and Lord 1926, Baughman 1943, Hildebrand 1958, 

 Marshall 1 958, Volpe 1 959, Tucker 1 986, Matlock and 

 Osburn 1987). It is caught and sold mostly fresh in 

 Mexico, Central and South America, and in the Carib- 

 bean (Fischer 1 977). Harvest is by gill nets, cast nets, 

 and hook and line. The common snook is also consid- 

 ered a possible mariculture species (Roberts 1990). 



Recreational : This is a popular gamefish, putting up 

 spectacular fights as well as being good eating 

 (Baughman 1943, Marshall 1958, Volpe 1959, Martin 

 and Shipp 1 971 , Ager et al. 1 976, Hoese and Moore 

 1 977, Tucker et al. 1 985, Tucker 1 986). The common 

 snook readily accepts natural or artificial bait on hook 

 and line, and is also caught by spearing (Marshall 



1 958, Ager et al. 1 976). Population declines since the 

 1930's have resulted in reduced catches by anglers 

 along the Gulf coast (Hildebrand 1958, Seaman and 

 Collins 1 983, Tucker 1 986, Matlock and Osburn 1 987). 

 This decline has resulted in it being classified as a 

 species of special concern by the state of Florida 

 (Tucker 1986, Johnson 1987). The Florida Depart- 

 ment of Natural Resources maintains a closed season 

 on snook during both the winter and summer months, 

 a bag limit, and a minimum size limit to relieve fishing 

 pressure (Seaman and Collins 1983, Kunneke and 

 Palik 1984, NOAA 1985). All species of Centropomus 

 are covered by the Florida regulations (Taylor pers. 

 comm.). In Texas, recreational catches of snook 

 decreased considerably from the 1940's through the 

 1960's. Catches of snook along the Texas coast 

 currently represent less than 0.1% of the recreational 

 landings (Matlock and Osburn 1 987). Texas maintains 

 size limits and bag limits for snook (TPWD 1993). 



Indicatorof Environmental Stress : Reductions in snook 

 populations may be due in part to environmental alter- 

 ation and degradation, reduced freshwater discharge 

 to estuaries, sewage and industrial pollution, and in- 

 secticides (Marshall 1958, Killam et al. 1992). 



Ecological : The common snook is considered a high 

 trophic level carnivore, preying mostly on fish (Springer 

 and Woodburn 1 960, Harrington and Harrington 1 961 , 

 Shafland and Koehl 1979). 



Range 



Overall : The common snook is distributed in tropical 

 and subtropical waters from North Carolina to as far 

 south as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Marshall 1958, Rivas 

 1962, Lee et al. 1980, Seaman and Collins 1983). It 



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