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Snapper
Pagrus auratus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
A juvenile Snapper at a depth of 3m, Shiprock, Port Hacking, New South
Wales, January 2002. View larger
image. View another
image of a juvenile Snapper.
The supraoccipital bone (upper right) and frontal bone (centre left) of
a Snapper. These bones give adults the distinctive head shape. View larger
image. 
A 7.2 cm long Snapper lower jaw found partly buried in shellgrit by S. Vines, St Kilda mangrove trail, South Australia, June 2004. Photo © R. Baldock. View larger image.
An x-ray image of the head of a Snapper. The supraoccipital and frontal bones
are clearly visible. View larger
image. Snapper are usually pinkish to brown on the upper sides and silvery below. The body is covered by small blue spots that are most obvious in small fish (see third image).
Young fish are known as Squires and old fish are called Old Man Snappers. Old fish develop a prominent hump on the top of the head (see top two images). The hump develops in both sexes but is more prominent in males. (View information on hyperostosis).
This species is one of the most popular food fishes in Australia. It grows to 1.3 m in length and at least 20 kg in weight.
Snapper aquaculture has become an important industry in recent years. View an image of a "table-sized" fish grown by Pisces Marine Aquaculture. The fish are reared in a 10m deep, nylon-netted enclosure offshore near Port Stephens, New South Wales. Farmed fish are exposed to more sunlight than wild fish and have a darker colouration. Shading of the enclosure for a time prior to harvesting is being investigated in an attempt to lighten the colour of the fish.
Larval Snappers occur in open water over the continental shelf and then enter bays and estuaries as juveniles of about 1 cm in length. Adults are found on deeper offshore reefs.
Snapper occur in Australia and New Zealand. In Australia it is known from marine waters around the southern half of the country from southern Queensland to the central coast of Western Australia.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
This species has been given numerous common names including, Cockney, Cockney Bream, Nobbler, Old Man, Pink Snapper, Pinkie, Pinky, Queen, Red Bream, Rugger, Schnapper, Tamure and White Snapper.
Related links
- Tarwhine fact sheet
- Yellowback Seabream fact sheet
- Yellowfin Bream fact sheet
- View the Breams list
Further reading
- Edgar, G.J. 1997. Australian Marine Life: the plants and animals of temperate waters. Reed Books. Pp. 544. (as Chrysophrys auratus)
- Gomon, M.F. in Gomon, M.F, Glover, C.J.M. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992. (as Chrysophrys auratus)
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437. (as Chrysophrys auratus)
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 251.
- Yearsley, G.K., Last, P.R. & R.D. Ward. 1999. Australian Seafood Handbook, an identification guide to domestic species. CSIRO Marine Research. Pp. 461.
