Spot Croaker

Spot croaker is a small, silvery fish named for the distinctive dark spot behind each gill. It belongs to the drum family, so called because the males produce a croaking or drumming sound using their swim bladder. It’s primarily a North American catch, common from the Chesapeake Bay southward.

The flesh is soft, moist, and mild with a slightly sweet flavour. Spot is traditionally pan-fried whole, grilled, or used as bait for larger game fish. It’s not widely available in Australian fishmongers but may appear in specialty or imported seafood.

Being a small fish, spot croaker is typically cooked simply and eaten whole or with minimal preparation.

Wild
photograph to come — from twenty years of markets, farms and kitchens

How it's made

Spot croaker is a wild-caught fish, harvested commercially and recreationally using gill nets, pound nets, and hook-and-line along the Atlantic coast. After catching, the fish are gutted, iced, and sold whole or as fillets. The flesh is taken from the body, with skin on or off depending on intended use.

Nutrition (per 100g)

Energy 123kcal
Protein 18.5g
Carbs 0g
Fat 4.9g
Fibre 0g Sugar 0g
Mass Distribution

1 fillet is about 64 g — roughly 80 kcal of this.

What it costs the planet (per kilo)

Carbon ≈5.12kg
Freshwater ≈3515.02L
Land ≈3.72

≈ Estimated — worked out from a category-typical value further up its supply chain. Where this comes from →

Where it comes from

In the kitchen

Used as

pan-fried whole small fish

Goes well with
Classic dishes
  • Cornmeal-crusted Pan-fried Spot
  • Fried Spot with Hot Sauce
  • Grilled Spot Croaker

Keeping one at home? Track yours in your cubud →

Where this data comes from

Nutrition data from

USDA

How it was calculated

SR Legacy

Full credits, licences, and methods: the sources page →

Where to next

✎ Spotted something wrong? Suggest a correction

Checking who you are...