Golden snapper

Golden snapper are one of the most popular reef fish for anglers in the Northern Territory (NT).

They can grow up to 100cm and 11kg and live up to 20 years of age.

These fish are commonly found on inshore coral and rocky reef areas.

Scientific name

Lutjanus johnii.

Lifecycle

Breeding fish form large spawning aggregations from September to April.

During spawning, females are capable of producing millions of eggs.

Once hatched, juveniles will spend several years in estuarine and inshore reef habitats.

As they reach sexual maturity, they will then migrate to offshore reefs. Sexual maturity is around:

• 63cm or 8 years for females
• 47cm or 5 years for males.

Compared to many other fish species in the NT, golden snapper are long lived, slow growing and late maturing.

These biological traits, combined with their schooling nature, make them easy to target and prone to overexploitation.

Stock health

Golden snapper are under high fishing pressure in the greater Darwin region.

Management action is required to help rebuild stocks in the greater Darwin region.

Stocks remain healthy in other parts of the Territory.  Read more about their current stock status.

Golden snapper are highly prone to barotrauma in depths greater than 10m, they should not be targeted for catch and release.

Read more about barotrauma.