Can Snook Live In Freshwater?

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Snook are one of a handful of exciting gamefish that can be caught in a wide range of environments.

You are probably familiar with snook on the beaches, inlets, bays, and backcountry flats…

But can snook live in freshwater? Can they really survive in ponds and lakes? And if so, how?

You may be surprised!

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Can Snook Live In Freshwater?

Snook can live in freshwater. They are one of many types of fish that are considered euryhaline, meaning they can survive in a wide range of salinities. Snook can live in the salty sea water and in full fresh water.

Osmoregulation is the process by which fish regulate internal ionic salts, like Sodium (Na+) and Chloride (Cl-). Freshwater fish and saltwater fish have completely different strategies for osmoregulation.

Can Snook Live In Freshwater?

A few types of fish, like snook, tarpon, salmon, drum, and eels, for example, have the special ability to switch between osmoregulation strategies.

This special ability is why you can catch snook at the beach, in brackish estuaries, and even in completely freshwater canals and ponds!

In fact, the lakes and canals in south Florida are known for fantastic freshwater snook fishing, and some people even catch snook and stock them in their own private ponds!

Why Do Snook Live in Freshwater?

Living in freshwater habitats can provide several evolutionary advantages for snook. In other words, snook have learned to use freshwater habitats for a survival advantage!

Snook have adapted to use freshwater systems for safety. This is especially true for juvenile snook which grow up in protected low salinity lagoons and freshwater rivers.

These lower salinity habitats offer juvenile snook the protection they need at such a size and plenty of smaller sized foods for them to grow.

As adults, snook also enter freshwater to feed! Freshwater habitats are highly productive and have an abundance of feeding opportunities that snook can take advantage of. 

Other marine species, like mullet, needlefish, and mojarra, are known to enter freshwater. In freshwater, snook will feed on these familiar marine baitfish, but snook will also eat freshwater fish like bluegill, shad, and even small bass.

Snook are truly opportunistic predators and will eat several other fish species in freshwater. Freshwater crustaceans like shrimp, crabs, and crayfish are also on the menu. 

Snook also enter freshwater for thermal refuge during the winter months. Some rivers in Florida, especially those in Central and North Florida, have springs feeding into the river.

These springs are fed by underground water are a stable 72 ℉ ( 22 ℃ ) all year round.

During the winter months, snook and many other saltwater species will travel up rivers to stay warm in these clear freshwater springs.

Can Snook Reproduce in Freshwater?

Snook cannot successfully reproduce in freshwater. All snook species are known to spawn in saltwater, but they still depend on freshwater rivers to live and reproduce successfully.

Fish with this life cycle are known as catadromous. This is defined as a fish which spends part of its life cycle up river and must spawn in saltwater.

For comparison, this is the opposite of anadromous fish, like salmon, which live in the ocean and swim up rivers to spawn in freshwater. 

Snook breed along the beaches, bridges, and inlets in saltwater. Their eggs catch currents from the river and are swept out to sea.

They are distributed along the coast by ocean currents. The eggs hatch in saltwater, and the larval stage snook seek out riverine and estuary habitats to grow.

Can Snook Live in a Freshwater Pond?

Snook certainly can live in a freshwater pond! Snook are caught quite often in freshwater ponds in South Florida that connect to canals that drain into saltwater.

Snook have even been caught in some golf course retention ponds in South Florida!

Are Snook Saltwater or Freshwater Fish?

All snook are considered saltwater fish. They are also known as marine invaders, because they are marine species that naturally ascend freshwater rivers.

This is a normal part of their life cycle, and without freshwater rivers snook populations would struggle. 

How Do Snook Live In Freshwater If They Are a Saltwater Fish?

A few special fish, like snook, are euryhaline, and they can modify their osmoregulation to adapt to fresh or saltwater as needed. 

Seawater is salty and is very high in dissolved sodium and chloride ions. Think about the last time you went to the ocean and got a little taste of the salt water; it doesn’t taste very good, and it dries up your mouth.

Drinking salty water will actually dehydrate you, because it draws the water out of your cells.

That’s why if you’re stranded out at sea, you can’t drink ocean water, no matter how thirsty you are!

Fish that live in saltwater habitats are adapted for this salty habitat. They can get rid of the excess salts and retain water in their cells. They do this by drinking water and excreting those ionic salts through their gills and urine.

However, this osmoregulation process is flipped for freshwater fish. In freshwater, there are extremely low amounts of dissolved ionic salts. 

Ionic salts are necessary for several biological processes, so in freshwater fish, these ionic salts are retained and conserved.

If freshwater fish do not get enough ionic salts in their cells, water will flow into their cells causing them to rupture.

Their osmoregulation strategy is to absorb ions through their gills and excrete water through dilute urine. 

Which Species of Snook Thrive in Freshwater?

All species of snook can survive in freshwater, but the fat snook (Centropomus parallelus) specializes and thrives in freshwater habitats.

It is most frequently found far upstream in freshwater rivers and canals. It takes advantage of resources in freshwater that other snook species are less likely to reach. 

The common snook, is the generalist among the snook species and can travel far upstream into freshwater on occasion.

The swordspine snook and tarpon snook can also survive in pure freshwater, but as adults, their niche is specialized in shallow lagoons and small creeks on brackish water rivers.

Can You Keep Freshwater Snook?

In Florida, you can keep a snook in freshwater, as long as you follow the snook season and slot size regulations. The season opens and closes at different parts of the year, and you need to purchase a snook license to keep snook. 

Can You Eat Freshwater Snook?

You can eat freshwater snook, but I personally prefer to release them out of respect for their long journey up river.

Unfortunately, many freshwater rivers are small and easily polluted, so I would recommend caution before eating freshwater snook.

In freshwater, snook may taste slightly different than in saltwater because of a shift in diet.

Some say that they prefer snook from the ocean because they have a cleaner and more mild flavor.

Growing up in Florida, I’ve been surrounded by saltwater my entire life…and I love sharing my passion with others.

To learn more about why I started Saltwater Mecca, visit the ABOUT page.

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