Results from spatial and temporal distribution analysis of 5,157 black croaker (Cheilotrema saturnum) collected by gillnet from 1995–2004 at stations from Newport to Santa Barbara, California, including Santa Catalina Island, indicated that peak catch per unit effort (CPUE) occurred along the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Annual gillnet CPUE was greatest in 2000. The highest black croaker abundance was recorded in 1997 using standardized impingement data from two Santa Monica Bay generating stations. Length-frequency analyses from both gill net and impingement sampling indicated that a large proportion of black croaker were small in size immediately prior to and during the 1997–98 El Niño Southern Oscillation, and then increased in size with time. Observed black croaker ages ranged up to 21 years old, with most fish less than 14 years old. Von Bertalanffy growth parameters were L∞ = 237.7, k = 0.31, t 0 = –1.778,and N = 779, with no significant differences between the sexes. Gonosomatic indices peaked in June, followed by August, suggesting late-spring to summer spawning. Mortality adjusted hindcasting indicated that peak recruitment occurred in 1997.