Whats This Fish??

[Jaxson06]

Can anyone tell me what type of fish this is??...caught it off Airlie Beach..released as I didnt know what it was.

Cheers

[scrotty]

Hey Mate, That is Lutjanus Bitaenatus also known as an "Indonesian Snapper". I was a fisheries officer in Airlie Beach and have seen hundreds of them. They are often confused with nanygai however have a smaller legal size of 25cm but normally stop growing around 30cm.They are usually found in the deeper holes around the Whitsunday islands in about 40 to 80 meters.They are a schooling fish so if you catch one you will usually catch heaps. They have a bag limit of 10 and are great chewing. The easyest way to identify them is canine teeth like a jack and have they have a fine white strip on the tip of there caudal fin. Hope this helps, cheers

[banksmister]

Hey Mate, That is Lutjanus Bitaenatus also known as an "Indonesian Snapper". I was a fisheries officer in Airlie Beach and have seen hundreds of them. They are often confused with nanygai however have a smaller legal size of 25cm. They are usually found in the deeper holes around the Whitsunday islands. They are a schooling fish so if you catch one you will usually catch heaps. They have a bag limit of 10 and a great chewing. The easyest way to identify them is canine teeth like a jack and have they have a fine white strip on the tip of there caudal fin. Hope this helps, cheers

Great reply good info
Thats what this site should be about
Thanks

[Jaxson06]

Thanks heaps Scrotty..now I know what they are and that they are good chewin, I will be keepin them next time. i caught about 12 all around 35 cm..

Cheers

[scrotty]

No probs Jaxson, thats what i mean about when you catch one you will probably get more! It might pay to check with the Airlie fisheries guys about the size and bag limits of those because thats what it was when i worked there a few years ago. As most fisho's know the size and bag limits change constantly. I would hate to give you old regulations. The fisheries guys up there are very active and can be found in the combined marine operations base at shingley beach. That would have been a nice feed mate. Cheers and rip some lips!

[Ausfish]

My brother inlaw catches plenty of them up there. Says they are an introduced species and a pest/vermon. If this is correct why is there a bag limit on them? They never use to have any limits a few years back, as far as I know.

[Lucky_Phill]

I have done the Fisheries Search and found no mention of the Indonesian Snapper ( Lutjanus Bitaenatus ) as being on the " Take and Possession " list for either Tidal or Offshore waters.

Fisheries Queensland does not list these specific species anywhere.

The CSIRO has identified these fish as being in Australian waters. The CSIRO has dropped these in the " Tropical Snapper " class, but QLD Fisheries has no specific mention of these fish.

There is a Commercial Marketing name for them issued by the CSIRO, " Tropical Snapper ", which as we know, covers a great deal of different species.

The Qld Fisheries " Take and Possession " schedule lists...

" All Tropical Snappers and Sea Perches " min length........ 25cm......... take & possession limit.... 5 per species.

So, we have an issue. QLD fisheries do not identifiy specifically, this species, but the CSIRO has grouped it into Tropical Snappers, which the QLD Fishery schedule has an " encompassing " title / group.

That, to me, seems a little confusing.

Maybe we need to get confirmation from an authority on this one ?


Cheers LP

[scrotty]

Hey Ausfish, yes they are an introduced species but I can assure you that they DO have a size and bag limits. They were placed in the Tropical Snapper group. It used to be published on posters and hand outs in the Airlie Beach Fisheries office. If you call Airlie Fisheries they will happily tell you what the size and bag is. They are fairly indemic to the Whitsunday region so the local fisheries guys will know the current deal. It was my job to show people how to identify them and the size and bag limits so unless the regs have changed in the last three or four years that should still be the case! I do agree that they should not have limits as they are a noxious species but since when can anybody make sense of all fisheries regs! I worked for them and nobody could ever explain the rationality for this species to me either? There is also another fish in the same area that most people would swear is a small Barramundi ( "Lates Calcarifer) however it is not! It is a "Sand Bass" It has a maxium growth of around 47 cm. But i wont hijack the thread about that one, cheers

[Badone]

How do you get an " introduced species" in the ocean??

[scrotty]

Hey Badone, its quite easy. The fish is not known to live in that area naturaly. Any fish living in an area outside of its natural range is known as Noxious. It may have been introdced intentionaly or may have arrived in Australian waters through ships dumping ballast water or any other miriad of ways. Another example would be if somebody unknowlingly bought water here from PNG containing Black Bass eggs and dumped it in the Northern Territory we would have a similar situation. Its not their natural range! Hope this helps

[Camhawk88]

More often than not through bilge water transporting larvae.
I know the oceans are all connected however natural barriers prevent fish from one region getting to another. In the case of these guys which are a coastal species, the 1000's km of deep open water with no habitat (shallow reefs etc) for them would prevent them moving to other areas such as Australia.
There are many cases of introduced marine pests in Australia and other areas. Shipping bilge water is the most prolific vector.

[Camhawk88]

Jeez ya gotta be quick!

[Badone]

Hey Badone, its quite easy. The fish is not known to live in that area naturaly. Any fish living in an area outside of its natural range is known as Noxious. It may have been introdced intentionaly or may have arrived in Australian waters through ships dumping ballast water or any other miriad of ways. Another example would be if somebody unknowlingly bought water here from PNG containing Black Bass eggs and dumped it in the Northern Territory we would have a similar situation. Its not their natural range! Hope this helps

Thanks. Helps heaps. Didn't know you could apply this term to the oceans other than for animals like starfish or mollusks and the like.

[odes20]

Whaatt!! iTS A JUVENILE Large mouth nannygai in my book thay are caught all up the tropical coast. If i were you I would show it to fisheries as Id be fairly certain they would book you for having undersized nannigai??

[odes20]

Whhaat!! In my book its just a juvenile Nannygai, and I wouldnt be seen dead with one up here in Cairns, under 40cm anyway. They are all along our northern coastal reefs and wrecks. I just sent a copy of the picture to Fisheries here at Cairns. Jeez I hope all the readers of this thread stay attached as there could be some serious consequences of having a bag of them. I asked the Fisheries here if they had heard of Indonesian Snapper and he just laughed! (with me). Hold the phone on this one is my view. I will post his reply as soon as...

Cheers

Hey Mate, That is Lutjanus Bitaenatus also known as an "Indonesian Snapper". I was a fisheries officer in Airlie Beach and have seen hundreds of them. They are often confused with nanygai however have a smaller legal size of 25cm but normally stop growing around 30cm.They are usually found in the deeper holes around the Whitsunday islands in about 40 to 80 meters.They are a schooling fish so if you catch one you will usually catch heaps. They have a bag limit of 10 and are great chewing. The easyest way to identify them is canine teeth like a jack and have they have a fine white strip on the tip of there caudal fin. Hope this helps, cheers