Gray snapper 



Lutjanus griseus 

 Adult 



8 cm 



(from Fischer 1 978) 



Common Name: gray snapper 

 Scientific Name: Lutjanus griseus 

 Other Common Names: mangrove snapper, mango 

 snapper, black snapper (Shipp 1 986); Pensacola snap- 

 per (Goode 1884); ivaneau sardear/se(French), pargo 

 prieto (Spanish) (Fischer 1978, NOAA 1985). 

 Classification (Robins et al. 1991) 

 Phylum: Chordata 

 Class: Osteichthyes 

 Order: Perciformes 

 Family: Lutjanidae 



Value 



Commercial : The commercial fishery for gray snapper 

 is used as a seasonal supplement to other fisheries. 

 Hook and line, long line, and fish traps are the main 

 fishing methods, but boat seines and gill nets are also 

 used. The main fishing grounds are continental and 

 island shelf waters, especially in the vicinity of Cuba, 

 south Florida, Laguna Madre, and Venezuela (Starck 

 and Schroeder 1971, Fischer 1978, Bortone and Wil- 

 liams 1986, Grimes 1987). In U.S. federal waters of the 

 Gulf of Mexico, a 12 inch minimum size limit applies 

 (GMFMC 1 996a). This species is marketed mostly as 

 a fresh product and is considered an excellent food fish 

 (Fischer 1978). 



Recreational : The gray snapper is common in Florida 

 and supports an important sport fishery with 3 and 4 

 year old fish making up most of the inshore harvest 

 (Rutherford et al. 1989b). The most common angling 

 method is hook and line with cut bait, but in southern 

 Florida they are also caught by fish traps and spear 

 guns (Bortone and Williams 1986). The largest land- 

 ings occur in Florida where, in 1986, approximately 

 1 ,540,000 fish were landed recreationally (Starck and 



Schroeder 1971, NMFS 1987). Greatest catches 

 occur in late summer. In U.S. federal waters of the Gulf 

 of Mexico, a 12 inch minimum size limit and daily bag 

 limit have been established (GMFMC 1996b). 



Indicator of Environmental Stress : This species is not 

 typically used in studies of environmental stress. 



Ecological : The gray snapper is a general carnivore. 

 Adults and particularly juveniles are associated with 

 estuarine areas. Along with other snappers, this spe- 

 cies is an important component of marine, nearshore 

 reef, or reef-like biotopes (Bortone and Williams 1 986). 



Range 



Overall : The gray snapper is found in the western 

 Atlantic, tropical and subtropical marine and estuarine 

 waters of Florida, the West Indies, Bermuda, the Baha- 

 mas, and the shelf waters of the Gulf of Mexico. 

 Occasionally juveniles are found as far north as Cape 

 Cod, Massachusetts and as far south as Rio de Janeiro, 

 Brazil (Croker 1962, Starck and Schroeder 1971, 

 Fischer 1978, NOAA 1985). 



Within Study Area : This species is distributed through- 

 out the Gulf of Mexico. It is common along the entire 

 Florida west coast increasing in abundance south- 

 ward, and is the most common species of snapper in 

 Florida Bay and adjacent estuaries (Tabb and Manning 

 1 961 ). It is less common along the central and western 

 Gulf coast (Starck and Schroeder 1971, Hoese and 

 Moore 1 977, Shipp 1 986). The relative abundance of 

 gray snapper in 31 Gulf of Mexico estuaries is depicted 

 in Table 5.30 (Nelson et al. 1992, Comyns pers. 

 comm., VanHoose pers. comm.). 



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