The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) has certified a new state record for the White Trevally, scientifically known as Pseudocaranx dentex. Thomas Woo from Wilmington achieved this feat by catching a 19-pound, 3.2-ounce specimen offshore from Wrightsville Beach on May 8, 2025.
Prior to Woo’s catch, there were no existing state records for this species in the United States. The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) world record for White Trevally was established in Japan in 1998.
Woo was fishing about 55 miles offshore south of Wrightsville Beach at a depth of 150 feet when the fish took his slow-pitch jig. The caught fish measured a fork length of 32.2 inches and had an overall length of 37.8 inches.
The weight was confirmed by fisheries staff at the Wilmington DMF office, and a genetic sample was collected for further study by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. This species is rarely seen by recreational anglers off the North Carolina coast, where it typically measures only around 16 inches.
For additional details on state record fish, interested parties can visit the division’s State Saltwater Records webpage or reach out to the North Carolina Saltwater Fishing Tournament staff via email at saltwater.citations@deq.nc.gov.
A photo of Woo with his catch is available for download at https://www.deq.nc.gov/media/48309.
