page_title: Common snook
section_title: Human interest
hierarchical_section_title: Common snook / Human interest
caption_attribution_description: English: Jeff Berardelli with a snook he caught in Flamingo, FL
context_page_description: The common snook is a species of marine fish in the family Centropomidae of the order Perciformes. The common snook is also known as the sergeant fish or robalo. It was originally assigned to the sciaenid genus Sciaena; Sciaena undecimradiatus and Centropomus undecimradiatus are obsolete synonyms for the species.
  One of the largest snooks, C. undecimalis grows to a maximum overall length of 140 cm, but common length is 50 cm. The IGFA world record is 24.32 kg caught in Parismina Ranch, Costa Rica, by Rafael Montalvo. Of typical centropomid form, it possesses drab coloration except for a distinctive black lateral line. It can also have bright yellow pelvic and caudal fins, especially during spawn.
context_section_description: Three United States Navy submarines have been named for this species, USS Robalo (SS-273) and USS Snook (SS-279) in the Second World War and USS Snook (SSN-592) in the 1950s.
  Considered an excellent food fish, the common snook is fished commercially and foreign-caught fish are sold in the US.  When cooking snook, the skin must be removed, because it imparts an unpleasant taste, described as soapy, to the fish.
  Snook are also prized as game fish, being known for their great fighting capabilities. The IGFA All Tackle World Record for Common snook stands at 53 lb 10oz (24.32 kg) caught by Gilbert Ponzi near Parismina Ranch, Costa Rica. Previous world records were caught in Fort Myers, Florida and Gatun Spillway Canal Zone, Panama.
caption: Common snook caught off Florida
exif: {}