Red Snapper
Lutjanus campechanus
Photo: Geeklikepi · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Keep or release?
Where are you fishing?
Size limits, seasons and female rules are set by each state. Pick yours to get a verdict.
TIDE covers New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland rules, plus federal protections everywhere.
Verifying against GBIF…
Conservation status
IUCN Red ListAssessed as Vulnerable, reflecting a long history of overfishing in the Gulf of Mexico. The US stock has been under a federal rebuilding plan since 2005 and has improved substantially.
What Vulnerable means
Facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
On your plate
Check Local Guidance
US Gulf red snapper is rebuilding under strict quotas — but this is also one of the most mislabelled fish in the market, so what you are served is often not this species at all.
Regional fishing status
The Gulf of Mexico stock is rebuilding under a NOAA-managed plan and is no longer subject to overfishing. Imported 'snapper' is frequently a different species entirely.
If you buy it
- Buy US Gulf-caught red snapper from a source that can name the vessel or dock.
- Buying whole fish makes substitution far harder.
- DNA surveys have repeatedly found a large share of 'red snapper' sold in the US is another species.
Conservation status and seafood sustainability are two different questions. A species can be Least Concern globally and still be overfished, protected or unsustainable where you are.
Habitat
Reefs, rocky ledges and artificial structure from 10–190 m
Range
Gulf of Mexico and the southeastern US Atlantic coast
Size
Commonly 60 cm, up to 1 m and 22 kg
Diet
Fish, shrimp, crabs and cephalopods
Lifespan
Over 50 years
Group
fish
Red snapper can live more than half a century, which means a heavily fished population loses its oldest and most productive spawners first.
Oil and gas platforms in the Gulf act as artificial reefs and now hold significant snapper populations.
Seafood fraud studies have found mislabelling rates for 'red snapper' among the highest of any fish sold in the US.
Cook this species
Ways to cook Red Snapper
Global conservation status does not tell you whether this species is sustainable to catch in your region. Where it was caught, and how, decides that.
Try this instead
Sustainable seafood alternatives
While Red Snapper stocks recover, these choices carry a lighter footprint.