Atlantic Croaker
Micropogonias undulatus
The Atlantic croaker is a drum that varies in color from silvery greenish to bluish gray, with a silvery or brassy white belly. Adults have:
- Brassy spots forming faint, irregular stripes on the back and dorsal fin.
- Several small chin barbels.
- A slightly pointed tail fin.
- Deep notch in dorsal fin.
- Usually grow to about 18 to 20 inches, but can be as long as 24 inches.
Where does the Atlantic croaker live?
Atlantic croakers are found in the Bay and its tidal tributaries from March through October.
- Have been collected as far north as the Susquehanna Flats.
- A bottom dweller, preferring sandy or muddy areas in shallow or deep water.
- Spends the summer swimming randomly through the Bay and its tributaries, trying to avoid predators.
- Migrate offshore and to the south during fall and winter.
What does the Atlantic croaker eat?
Atlantic croakers are bottom-feeders, preying on:
- Bristle worms
- Crustaceans
- Mollusks
- Plant and animal detritus
In turn, Atlantic croakers are preyed upon by larger fish, including sharks, bluefish, weakfish, striped bass and summer flounders.
How does the Atlantic croaker reproduce?
Atlantic croakers spawn offshore from August through October.
- Beginning in August, young of the year enter the Bay and move into low-salinity and freshwater creeks.
- After a few months they travel farther up into tidal tributaries, where they overwinter.
- Juveniles leave the Bay with the adults the following autumn.
Other facts about the Atlantic croaker:
- A member of the drum family, which include spot, weakfish, red drums and back drums. Each of these fish is able to make a loud drumming or croaking sound by vibrating its swim bladder using special muscles. Atlantic croaker is the loudest of the drums.
- Can live up to seven or eight years.
- When taken out of the water, an Atlantic croaker appears to glow pink.
- The Chesapeake Bay record Atlantic croaker, caught in September 2006 off Point Lookout, Maryland, weighed 6.52 pounds.