Yellow Fin Croaker

A recent scientific paper provides and interesting review of the Roncador (Yellowfin Croaker in English).

Demographic Parameters of Yellowfin Croaker, Umbrina Roncador (Perciformes: Sciaenidae), From the Southern California Bight

Check out my post from last July for a picture of a good sized Roncador

For those of you who are not into reading the whole article the sections most relevant to the fly angler include:

"A recent assessment of fishes just beyond the surf zone (5-14 m deep) found that yellowfin croaker was the most abundant species on the southern California mainland and third most abundant at Santa Catalina Island (Pondella and Allen 2000). Yellowfin croakers have a chin barbel and an inferior jaw typical of soft benthos foragers. Thus, it is not unexpected that previous investigators described this species as preferring shallow sandy substrates, embayments (Skogsberg 1939, Horn and Allen 1985), and especially the surf zone, and it has also been noted around rocks (Feder et al. 1974). Despite its relatively high density, widespread presence in the easily accessible nearshore environment, and importance in recreational fisheries, there is a paucity of life history information about this species."

"On average, yellowfin croaker were 101 mm SL during their first year and 170 mm SL during their second year. Growth began to slow in their third year (mean = 188 mm SL) as they became reproductive."

"The oldest specimens were two 15-yr-old males caught at Santa Barbara Island (13 June 2006; 395 mm SL) and Belmont Shores (28 February 1995; 313 mm SL). The largest yellowfin croaker (420 mm SL) was caught at Palos Verdes on 3 June 2003. This fish was 7 yr old. The tail had been eaten, and we estimate that the TL would have been 510 mm based on conversion equations in Table 1."

"Recruitment was not clearly correlated with SST (r = 0:535, P = :060) and has significantly declined since 1993 (r = 0:832, m = -412:8 +- 86:9, P = :0008)."

"Given that yellowfin croakers have a relatively high annual mortality rate (A = 0:45), individuals older than 15 yr are likely to be extremely rare; we found only five individuals older than 11 yr among the 1,209 fish in the study. As an evolutionary strategy, it appeared that rapid growth and early maturity were necessary to offset this relatively high mortality of both males and females."

"They occur in all nearshore subtidal habitats and are generally wary of scuba divers. Single yellowfin croaker can be observed regularly on cobble and soft-bottom areas near reefs during the night at Santa Catalina Island. They appear to be nocturnal foragers (Hobson et al. 1981), and anecdotal observations indicate that they may make forays into reef habitats."

"In warmer years and seasons, catch was greater near the surf zone, but during colder years the number of entrapped fish increased offshore, indicating that temperature may be one cue yellowfin croaker use for onshore/ offshore movement."

"With such dramatic variations in indicators of adult stock, juvenile recruitment, spatial distribution, and a reproductive strategy that may employ group spawning, we recommend a cautious management approach for this fishery species."