Corvina

Members of the Sciaenidae family (drum and croaker), corvina inhabit the Pacific Ocean and are known for the noises they make. These fish are often called corbina, as well as corvina, and both words appear in the Spanish and the Portuguese languages for common names applied to various drum and croaker.

They are typically referred to as croaker by some anglers and as weakfish by others, and they inhabit tropical and temperate seas. Almost all are inshore bottom-feeding fish, usually found over sandy bottoms, either in schools or in small groups.

Corvina primarily inhabit the Gulf of California and waters south of the gulf; they are likely to inhabit the surf line and to hug the near shoreline, feeding on crustaceans, worms, and small fish. They generally have a silver sandy coloration that blends with this environment. Most, if not all, are good to eat.


Species that may be encountered include the orange-mouth or yellowmouth corvina (Cynoscion xanthulus), which occurs throughout the Gulf of California in Mexico and south to Acapulco, as well as in the Salton Sea in Southern California, and can grow to 36 inches.

The Gulf corvina (Cynoscion othonopterus), a resident of the upper Gulf of California that grows to 28 inches; the shortfin corvina (Cynoscion parvipinnis), a surf fish also in the Gulf of California and south to Mazatlán that grows to 20 inches; the yellowfin corvina (Cynoscion stolzmanni), ranging from the Gulf of California to Peru and growing to 35 inches.

The striped corvina (Cynoscion reticulatus), ranging from the Gulf of California to Panama and growing to 35 inches; and the totuava or totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi), a white seabass lookalike that was once abundant and is now endangered. It inhabits the middle and upper Gulf of California and once grew to 6 feet and 300 pounds.

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