Fish of Noosa & the Sunshine Coast
Fish of the Queensland Coast
Snapper
Description
Snapper are probably one of the most sought after and highly regarded oceanic fish around the southern half of Australia and right around New Zealand. The are great fun to catch and great on the plate. Snapper are known by a few different names depending on their size. Juveniles are known as Cockney, once they reach pan size they become known as red bream and when slightly bigger they are generally called squire. It is not until they reach 2 or more kgs are they called Snapper and as they develop the tell tale hump on their head they become known as knobby or old man snapper. No matter what stage of growth they are at, they are still a snapper and sought after by many anglers. They are a medium to large, deep bodied fish with powerful jaws and peg like teeth (Similar to a bream - only bigger). Large mature fish develop a hump on their head as they get older. They are a beautiful pink to deep red in colour (especially when first caught) with a scattering of beautiful blue spots. Snapper can grow to 20kgs
Habitat
Snapper inhabit inshore and off shore reefs up to about 200 meters and at times will enter Estuaries, Harbours and Bays. They love reef or broken reef areas with gravel / rocky base, or other structure like wrecks. Snapper definitely school up and move between reefs coming closer inshore as the water temperate drops. In Australia they are found from Southern Queensland south through New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and to about Coral Bay in Western Australia, less frequent in Tasmania. In New Zealand they are found right around both the North and South Island.
Also Known As
Cockney; Red Bream; Squire; Pinkie; Rugger; Pink Snapper; Old Man Snapper; Reddie; Old Man Red; Knobby