Snapper - Paddletail

Dispatch Method:

The eating qualities of paddletail snapper can be greatly improved if they are killed humanely by iki jime or a firm knock to the head before placing them in an ice slurry after bleeding.

Fish Description:

• Paddletail snapper are an attractive light tan/pink colour with bright red fins and a dark red forked tail with a distinctive rounded "paddle" shapes to the caudal fin.
  
• Maturity occurs in the second or third year at between 20 and 25 cm total length. Maximum age is at least 18 years.
  
• Paddletail snapper are most active at night, when they hunt for crustaceans, invertebrates and small fishes.
  
• This species has been implicated in ciguatera poisoning in many parts of its range, particularly around the Pacific islands

Fish Distribution:

• Paddletail snapper are found near coral reefs throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific region from the Red Sea and East Africa, as far east as French Polynesia, and as far north as southern Japan.
  
• In Australia they can be encountered from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands in Western Australia across northern Australia and throughout the Great Barrier Reef, with juveniles found as far south as Sydney.
  
• Juveniles tend to inhabit shallower areas of coral rubble and seagrass, often forming large schools. Adults form schools around coral reefs and participate in spawning aggregations.

Fish Size Common Length:

25-45 cm (10-18 inches), maximum size around 56 cm (22 inches) and 2.5 kg (6 lb).