Common Name: Snapper

Distribution: Abundant in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout warm temperate waters of the west Pacific, including Indonesia, Philippines, China, Taiwan and Japan. Found throughout the southern half of Australia and New Zealand.

Ecological Notes: Frequent reef and rocky areas inshore and offshore, juveniles in estuaries and bays. Depth from 5 to 200 metres.

Additional Notes: Pink grey colouration with iridescent blue spots along sides. Large fish have prominent knob like protrusion between the eyes. Sub adult pictured here. Prized food fish, both for recreational and commercial fishers. Schooling species although large adults often solitary, feeds on small fish and crustaceans. Grows to 1.30 m.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015.. p.184.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. http://fishbase.ca/summary/Chrysophrys-auratus.html. Accessed 15/05/18.