Sea Bass in Costa Rica

Two very different "sea basses"

"Sea bass" is one of the most confusing fish names in English, because it's used for many unrelated fish around the world. The old version of this page described the black sea bass, a small fish of the US Atlantic coast that doesn't live in Costa Rica. Here's what the name really means for anyone fishing or eating in Costa Rica.

On the menu and at the fish market, "sea bass" is usually corvina. Corvinas aren't bass at all: they're croakers, in the drum family (Sciaenidae), named for the drumming sound many of them make with their swim bladder. They're one of the most important food fish of Costa Rica's Pacific coast.

In fish books, the true sea basses are the family Serranidae, which includes the groupers and cabrillas. On Costa Rica's Pacific reefs, the best-known true sea basses are the spotted cabrilla and the broomtail grouper, covered in our grouper guide.

The corvinas of Costa Rica

Corvinas are long, silvery fish with a large mouth, often with a pair of prominent canine teeth at the front of the upper jaw, and a soft, slightly pointed tail. They feed on fish, shrimp and other crustaceans over sand and mud bottoms.

INCOPESCA's size regulations name the main corvinas of the Pacific coast:

• Corvina reina (Cynoscion albus), the largest and most prized. FishBase lists a maximum of 130 cm, with a common length of about 50 cm. Adults live in coastal waters, and juveniles move into estuaries and river mouths.
• Corvina picuda (Cynoscion phoxocephalus), a smaller, pointed-snout corvina.
• Corvina aguada (Cynoscion squamipinnis), up to 64 cm according to FishBase, found along shores and in estuaries.
• Corvina agria (Micropogonias altipinnis), a croaker of the same family.

Where to find them in Costa Rica

Corvina are fish of the Pacific coast's shallow, sandy and muddy waters: estuaries, mangrove channels, river mouths, bays and surf beaches. The Gulf of Nicoya, the big, sheltered gulf between Puntarenas and the Nicoya Peninsula, is the heart of Costa Rica's corvina fishery, and much of INCOPESCA's research on corvina sizes comes from there. Corvina are also caught around river mouths and estuaries elsewhere on the coast, from Guanacaste to the southern Pacific.

The true sea basses (groupers and cabrillas) live somewhere else entirely: on the rocky reefs, pinnacles and islands of the Pacific coast.

How anglers fish for them

Corvina aren't a headline sport fish like sailfish or roosterfish, but they're fun on light tackle and a welcome catch on inshore trips. Common methods are:

• Bottom fishing with shrimp, sardine or cut bait on a light weighted rig, in estuaries, channels and river mouths.
• Casting jigs, soft plastics and small plugs along channel edges and drop-offs, especially on a moving tide.
• Surf fishing from the beach near river mouths, where corvina feed in the wash.

Light to medium spinning tackle is all you need. For the true sea basses, see the methods in our grouper guide: bottom fishing and jigging next to rocks with heavy gear.

The rules

Corvina have legal minimum sizes in Costa Rica. INCOPESCA's agreement AJDIP/026-2018 sets legal first-capture sizes of 50 cm for corvina reina, 46 cm for corvina agria, 33 cm for corvina aguada and 32 cm for corvina picuda. Those sizes apply to fish sold commercially, and sport anglers can't sell their catch anyway, but they're the right guide for what to keep: they're based on the size at which each species first breeds.

The general sport-fishing rules apply too. The fisheries regulation (Decreto 36782, article 68) lets you land 5 fish per trip for your own use and bans selling sport catches, and everyone fishing from a boat needs an INCOPESCA sport fishing licence (Ley 8436, article 75).

Eating quality

Corvina is a mild, white, flaky fish, and a popular choice for ceviche in Costa Rica, as well as grilled or fried. If you see "sea bass" on a menu in Costa Rica, ask if it's corvina; it usually is. The true sea basses, the groupers and cabrillas, are excellent eating too.