brassy grunt
Orthopristis chalcea
Eastern Pacific grunt that lives on sand and gravel bottoms. It is of little importance in sport fishing and appears in small-scale commercial fishing.
Also called: corcoroca-corcovada, burrito corcovado, corocoro zapata, humpback grunt
- maximum
- 45 cm
- depth
- 10–60 m
who is the brassy grunt
The humpback grunt is a fish of the family Haemulidae, the grunt family. It reaches 45 cm and occurs in the eastern Pacific, from Mexico to Panama, including the Galápagos Islands, with records also in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It lives in coastal waters, over sand and gravel bottoms, between 10 and 60 m deep. It is considered an important food fish in its area, and commercial fishing takes it on a small scale. For anglers fishing the bottom, it is a possible catch over sandy bottoms, without much significance on the line.
Essential profile. Identification, where it occurs and rules, with data from FishBase and the cited regulations. Season, time of day, technique and bait are added once we have a good source for the brassy grunt; in the meantime, see the similar species.
identification
Short, compressed body, not very deep, with a small terminal mouth. The colour is silvery grey, with wavy, broken golden or copper lines that follow the scales above the lateral line and run horizontally below it. The dorsal fin is slightly notched. It can be confused with Microlepidotus brevipinnis, from the same coast, which is blue-grey with a pearly spot on each scale, and with Xenichthys xanti, which also has golden stripes but is more elongated and has very large eyes.
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Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
Essential profile: the index uses a general fish model (weather, sun, moon and tide), without a season or time of day specific to this species.
where found
It occurs in the eastern Pacific, from Mexico to Panama, including the Galápagos Islands, in coastal waters; there are also records from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Habitat: Sand and gravel bottoms in coastal waters, between 10 and 60 m deep.
rules for the brassy grunt
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
catch and release
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.
No danger to anglers. If released, return it to the water carefully.
in the kitchen
It is considered an important food fish throughout its range.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01, b = 2.99; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa da própria espécie)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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sources and references
Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.
- scientific FishBase: Orthopristis chalcea (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Orthopristis chalceaNames by country and language.
