Australasian snapper

{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | name = Australasian snapper | image = Snapper03 melb aquarium.jpg | image_caption = Australasian snapper, ''Chrysophrys auratus'', at [[Melbourne Aquarium]]. | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Carpenter, K.E. |author2=Buxton, C.D. |author3=Russell, B. |author4=Pollard, D. |date=2014 |title=''Pagrus auratus'' |volume=2014 |article-number=e.T154734A47028414 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T154734A47028414.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref> | parent_authority = [[Jean René Constant Quoy|Quoy]] & [[Joseph Paul Gaimard|Gaimard]], 1824 | genus = Chrysophrys | species = auratus | authority = ([[Johann Reinhold Forster|Forster]], 1801) | synonyms = ''Pagrus auratus'' <small>([[Johann Reinhold Forster|Forster]], 1801)</small> | range_map = Snapper.png | range_map_caption = Distribution of Australasian snapper }}

The '''Australasian snapper''' ('''''Chrysophrys auratus''''') or '''silver seabream''' is a species of [[porgie]] found in coastal waters of [[Australia]], [[Philippines]], [[Indonesia]], [[mainland China]], [[Taiwan]], [[Japan]] and [[New Zealand]]. Its distribution areas in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are disjunct.<ref name=fishbase>{{FishBase |genus=Chrysophrys |species=auratus |id= |month=September |year=2012 }}</ref> Although it is almost universally known in Australia and New Zealand as '''snapper''', it does not belong to the [[Lutjanidae]] snapper family. It is highly prized as an edible fish, with a sweet sea taste and a firm texture.

It is the only species in the genus '''''Chrysophrys''''', but was previously placed in the genus ''[[Pagrus]]'' as ''Pagrus auratus''.<ref name="fishbase" /><ref name="CofF">{{Cof genus|genus=Chrysophrys|access-date=6 September 2025}}</ref><ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021" />

==Regional variation in naming==  [[File:Snapper, Pagrus auratus Pengo.jpg|thumb|160px|left|Large snapper caught off [[Frankston, Victoria]], in 1893]]

Australia: '''cocknies''' (young smaller than legal size), '''red bream''' or '''pinkies''' (legal size), '''squire''' or '''squirefish''' (when bigger), '''snapper''' (at full size)

[[Western Australia]]: "pink snapper"<ref>{{cite web| title=Relationships among partial and whole lengths and weights for Western Australian Pink Snapper ''Chrysophrys auratus'' (Sparidae) - Department of Fisheries, Western Australia, Fish for the Future |url=http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/docs/frr/frr089/index.php?0401| access-date=2006-07-22| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060819200057/http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/docs/frr/frr089/index.php?0401| archive-date= 19 August 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref> to distinguish it from unrelated species<ref>{{cite web| title=Fishing Australia with the Definitive Aussie Interactive Sports Fishing Website! - Sportsfish Australia| url=http://www.sportsfish.com.au/pages/fishing/fish-saltwater/snapper.html| access-date=2006-07-22| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060703030859/http://www.sportsfish.com.au/pages/fishing/fish-saltwater/snapper.html| archive-date=3 July 2006}}</ref>

Victoria: also '''schnapper''' (ref: Schnapper Point, Mornington)

South Australia: the name "ruggers" is often used for smaller fish of legal size

[[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal people]] of the [[Port Jackson]] area in Australia: they called it ''wollamie''<ref>''Australian Aboriginal Words in English'', [[R. M. W. Dixon]], [[Oxford University Press]], 1990, {{ISBN|0-19-553099-3}}</ref> (also spelt ''wollamai'', and other variations). European colonists there knew it as the "light horseman", for the resemblance of the fish's skull to the helmet of a [[light horseman]].<ref>{{gutenberg|no=12929|name=A Voyage to Terra Australis, volume 1|author=Matthew Flinders|author-link=Matthew Flinders|bullet=none}}, entry for 3 May 1802</ref>

New Zealand: '''snapper''' (or '''New Zealand snapper''' when there is need to distinguish from other species of snapper). [[Māori language|Māori]]: {{lang|mi|tāmure}} (adult fish), {{lang|mi|karatī}} (juveniles)<ref>''Snapper, New Zealand's Greatest Fish, Te Ika Rangatira o Aotearoa'', Sam Mossman, AUT Media, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0-9582829-6-3}}</ref>

==Habitat== [[File:Wild capture of Pagrus auratus.png|thumb|300px|left|{{center|Capture of wild Australasian snapper in thousand tonnes, 1950–2010, as reported by the FAO<ref name="FishStat database">Based on data sourced from the [http://faostat.fao.org/site/629/default.aspx FishStat database] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107001620/http://faostat.fao.org/site/629/default.aspx |date=November 7, 2012 }}</ref>}}]]

The Australasian snapper is found on all coasts of New Zealand, especially in the north. In Australia, it is found along the south coast, mainly near [[Kiama, New South Wales|Kiama]], [[Berry, New South Wales|Berry]], [[Gerringong]], [[Gerroa]], [[Huskisson, New South Wales|Huskisson]], [[Vincentia, New South Wales|Vincentia]], and [[Shoalhaven]]. It is also found on the coast of [[Tasmania]], but in smaller numbers. The fish spawn in inshore waters and live in rocky areas and reefs of up to {{Convert|200|m|ft|abbr=on}} deep. They school, and will migrate between reefs. Larger fish are known to enter estuaries and harbours, for example [[Port Phillip Bay]] has a renowned seasonal snapper run.

Growth rates within the wild stocks vary with some (i.e. the Hauraki Gulf, NZ) growing rapidly and to a smaller maximum length, while stocks in east and west Australia are known to grow more slowly. The species is capable of living about 40 years throughout much of its range in Australia, and the Australian recordholder of 40 years and 10 months was a {{Convert|93.5|cm|in|abbr=on}} large-nosed male, caught on 1 September 2007 off Bunbury, Western Australia, and photographed on the day of capture.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Norriss|first=J.V.|author2=Crisafulli, B.|title=Longevity in Australian Snapper|journal=[[Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia]]|year=2010|volume=93|pages=129–32}}</ref> Sexual maturity is reached at about {{Convert|30|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and a small percentage of the males will turn into females at puberty. Large individuals of both sexes develop a prominent hump on the head.<ref>Dianne J. Bray & Martin F. Gomon, 2011, Snapper, Chrysophrys auratus, in Fishes of Australia, accessed 09 Sep 2014, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/678 </ref> Anglers are advised not to take immature fish, so as not to reduce breeding stock. The legal size in Australia varies by state, from {{Convert|35|cm|in|abbr=on}} and a bag limit of five fish per person in [[Queensland]] to {{Convert|50|cm|in|abbr=on}} in [[Western Australia]]. During spawning, these fish obtain a metallic green sheen which indicates a high concentration of acid buildup within the scales' infrastructure. Minimum sizes are supposed to be designed to allow these fish to participate in spawning runs at least once before they become available to the fishery, but given the slow growth rates of this species, a need exists to consider area closures and/or further increase the minimum sizes in each state to reduce the chances of [[growth overfishing]] of the various populations of snapper throughout its range. This may be important with recent developments in technology such as [[Global Positioning System|GPS]].

==Relationship with humans==

Snapper was an important traditional food for [[Māori people|Māori]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Leach |first1=Foss |last2=Boocock |first2=Angela |date=1995-06-30 |title=Estimating Live Fish Catches from Archaeological Bone Fragments of Snapper, Pagrus auratus |url=https://tuhinga.arphahub.com/article/34121/ |journal=Tuhinga |language=en |volume=3 |pages=1–28 |doi=10.3897/tuhinga.3.e34121 |doi-access=free |issn=2253-5861}}</ref> especially the tribes to the north of the [[North Island]], where snapper bones sometimes make up the majority of archaeological middens. Snapper is known by multiple names, including tāmure, a word to describe adults, and karatī, a word describing juvenile fish.<ref name="Secrets">{{cite Q|Q114871191|pp=154-159}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

There are numerous traditional ways to prepare the fish. One specific to snapper was kaniwha, where the meat would be submerged in fresh water and squeezed numerous times, then eaten raw. The nene (base of the tongue) was considered the most prestigious part of the fish to eat.<ref name="Secrets"/>

==Fisheries== [[File:Farmed production of Pagrus auratus.png|thumb|300px|left|{{center|Aquaculture production of farmed Australasian snapper in thousand tonnes, 1950–2010, as reported by the FAO<ref name="FishStat database"/>}}]] [[File:Silver seabream total production thousand tonnes 1950-2022.svg|thumb|300x300px|Capture (blue) and aquaculture (green) production of Silver seabream (''Pagrus auratus'') in thousand tonnes from 1950 to 2022, as reported by the [[Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fisheries and Aquaculture - Global Production |url=https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/collection/global_production?lang=en |access-date=2024-05-06 |website=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)}}</ref>]] Catches of Australasian snapper have varied between 25,600 and 34,300 tonnes in 2000–2009, with Japan and New Zealand reporting the largest catches.<ref name=FAO>{{Cite book | publisher = [[FAO]] | author = FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) | title = Yearbook of fishery and aquaculture statistics 2009. Capture production | location = Rome | year = 2011 | url = ftp://ftp.fao.org/FI/CDrom/CD_yearbook_2009/root/capture/yearbook_capture.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170519070831/ftp://ftp.fao.org/FI/CDrom/CD_yearbook_2009/root/capture/yearbook_capture.pdf | archive-date = 2017-05-19 | page = 162 }}</ref>

==See also== * [[Cape Woolamai, Victoria|Cape Woolamai]], named after the fish * [[Porgie fishing]]

== References == {{Reflist}} *{{cite book| title=Australian Fish and How to Catch Them| last=Allan|first=Richard| publisher=Landsdowne Publishing| year= 1990| isbn=1-86302-674-6}} *{{cite encyclopedia |year=1966 |title =Snapper |encyclopedia=An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand |url= http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/snapper |access-date=2006-07-22}}

== External links == {{Commons category|Pagrus auratus|Australasian snapper}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20140313194621/http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/Documents/recreational_fishing/fact_sheets/fact_sheet_pink_snapper.pdf Fisheries Western Australia - Pink Snapper Fact Sheet] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150322051906/http://www.fishfiles.com.au/knowing/species/finfish/snappers-emperors/Pages/Snapper.aspx Snapper], Fishfiles by Fisheries Research and Development Corporation * Snapper Fishing Spots in Sydney - [https://web.archive.org/web/20160206161154/http://www.charterfishingsydney.com.au/snapper/ Further Information] [[Red snapper|Red Snappers]]. * [http://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/678 Fishes of Australia : ''Pagrus auratus'']

{{DEFAULTSORT:Australasian snapper}} [[Category:Sparidae|Australian snapper]] [[Category:Marine fish of Australia]] [[Category:Marine fauna of East Asia]] [[Category:Marine fish of New Zealand]] [[Category:Fish of Oceania]] [[Category:Commercial fish]] [[Category:Taxa named by Johann Reinhold Forster]] [[Category:Fish described in 1801|Australian snapper]]