Genyonemus lineatus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

View Printer Friendly

Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	ACTINOPTERYGII	PERCIFORMES	SCIAENIDAE

Scientific Name:

Genyonemus lineatus

Species Authority:

(Ayres, 1855)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Croaker, King Croaker, Kingfish, King-fish, Roncador, Tomcod, White Croaker
French	–	Courbine Blanche, Maigre Argenté
Spanish	–	Corvineta Blanca, Roncador Blanco

Synonym/s:

Leiostomus lineatus Ayres, 1855

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Near Threatened ver 3.1
Year Published:	2010
Assessor/s:	Chao, N.L. & Starnes, W.C.
Reviewer/s:	Collen, B., Richman, N., Beresford, A., Chenery, A. & Ram, M.
Contributor/s:	De Silva, R., Milligan, H., Lutz, M., Batchelor, A., Jopling, B., Kemp, K., Lewis, S., Lintott, P., Sears, J., Wilson, P. & Smith, J. and Livingston, F.
Justification: Genyonemus lineatus has been assessed as Near Threatened. This species almost reaches the Vulnerable criteria under A1b, based on the Californian population landing data. However, this species is more broadly distributed and the impact of fishing in the rest of its range is unknown. Also, the fishing effort in California has decreased over the last 20 years, which may partly explain the decline in landings. Given that California is the centre of its distribution, and with the additional pressure of pollution, the trend is worrying. A more thorough assessment of fishing effort across its entire distribution is recommended.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Genyonemus lineatus is distributed from Barkley Sound in British Columbia, Canada to southern Baja California, Mexico.
Countries:	Native: Canada (British Columbia); Mexico; United States (California, Oregon, Washington)
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Pacific – eastern central; Pacific – northeast
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Genyonemus lineatus is considered common and abundant (Moore 2001). The Californian landing of this species has declined from 150,000 lb to 30,000 lb in two decades (California Department of Fish and Game/ NOAA Fisheries Service 2009). Whilst fishing pressure is being reduced in this region, it is likely that the decline in landings also reflects a population decline. This is likely to reflect about half of the species range (N.L. Chao pers. comm. 2009).
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Population:

Genyonemus lineatus is considered common and abundant (Moore 2001). The Californian landing of this species has declined from 150,000 lb to 30,000 lb in two decades (California Department of Fish and Game/ NOAA Fisheries Service 2009). Whilst fishing pressure is being reduced in this region, it is likely that the decline in landings also reflects a population decline. This is likely to reflect about half of the species range (N.L. Chao pers. comm. 2009).

Population Trend:

Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Adult White Croakers are epibenthic and occur on sandy bottoms. They have been taken to depths of 183 m. Their diet consists of smaller fish, and epibenthic and benthic invertebrates including polychaetes, clams, shrimp and crabs (Meador et al. 2004). This species is a multiple spawner.
Systems:	Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Genyonemus lineatus is of minor commercial importance and the latest Californian landings data from 2004 record approximately 30,000 lb per year (California Department of Fish and Game/ NOAA Fisheries Service 2009). Individuals of this species inhabit nearshore areas including the vicinity of wastewater discharge pipes where there are high levels of PCBs and DDTs. Adults exposed to such pollutants show impaired reproduction and liver disease (Malins et al. 1987, Cross and Hose 1988). Therefore this species is threatened by harvesting and pollution.

Major Threat(s):

Genyonemus lineatus is of minor commercial importance and the latest Californian landings data from 2004 record approximately 30,000 lb per year (California Department of Fish and Game/ NOAA Fisheries Service 2009). Individuals of this species inhabit nearshore areas including the vicinity of wastewater discharge pipes where there are high levels of PCBs and DDTs. Adults exposed to such pollutants show impaired reproduction and liver disease (Malins et al. 1987, Cross and Hose 1988). Therefore this species is threatened by harvesting and pollution.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	There are no species-specific conservation measures in place for the White Croaker. Monitoring of the population trends and harvest levels of this species is needed.

Conservation Actions:

There are no species-specific conservation measures in place for the White Croaker.

Monitoring of the population trends and harvest levels of this species is needed.

Citation:	Chao, N.L. & Starnes, W.C. 2010. Genyonemus lineatus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 19 May 2013.
Disclaimer:	To make use of this information, please check the <Terms of Use>.
Feedback:	If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please fill in the feedback form so that we can correct or extend the information provided