Expect to Catch

Snapper

• head and upper body are red-brown
• sides and belly silvery
• upper sides have numerous small bright blue spots
• fins are red or faint red
• caudal fin has white lower margin
• bottom-living, at depths of 10-150 m
• common on rough grounds
• also found on softer bottom grounds

Cobia

• back and sides dark brown
• two sharply defined narrow silvery bands (not as prominent in dead specimens)
• yellowish belly
• first dorsal fin has seven to nine (usually eight) short but strong isolated spines, not connected by a membrane
• commonly 1.1 m but may reach up to 2 m maximum total length (at a maximum weight of about 50 kg)

Pearl Perch

• silvery grey body
• back of head has lavender reflections
• supraclavicle (shoulder bone) is deep iridescent blue-black, becoming pearl-white when the thin membrane is removed; developed into a prominent bony shield
• scales on back and upper sides have small indistinct golden-brown to dark fawn spot at base
• dorsal fin surface of last ray usually has dark blotch at base
• pectoral fins are transparent with a small brown or black spot on inner base (axillary spot)
• dorsal and caudal fin have pale membranes with white rays
• anal fin is transparent with silvery or pale fawn rays
• pelvic fins are transparent, with white rays
• 35 cm common length
• 70 cm maximum total length

Parrotfish

• brightly coloured fish
• vital to the reef building process – as they feed with strong parrot-like fused teeth they crush rubble and dead coral into sand
• males, females and juveniles often very differently coloured and can be difficult to identify
• colouration can be separated into bright (also called terminal phase) and drab (also called initial phase) forms
• drab form may include both males and females, but the bright form are always males

Jewfish

• silvery with a faint series of oblique stripes along scale rows
• dorsal fin has a dark margin on soft part
• pectoral and pelvic fins have a yellow tinge
• 40 cm common length, 60 cm maximum standard length

Mahi Mahi

• brilliant metallic blue-green on the back (colour fades rapidly upon death)
• sides are silvery with golden sheen, with one or more rows of dark spots or golden blotches running below the dorsal fin (on and below the lateral line, some scattered irregularly)
• black dorsal and anal fins (anal fin has a white edge)
• pale pectoral fins
• caudal fin is silvery with golden sheen
• with juveniles, the tips of caudal fin lobes are white and the pelvic fins are black
• 100 cm common length, 210 cm maximum total length

Mackerel (Spanish or Spotted)

• numerous thin, wavy vertical bands on body (number of bars increases from as few as 20 in a 40 cm specimen, to as many as 65 in a 150 cm specimen)
• iridescent blue-grey back
• silver sides with bluish reflections; juveniles frequently spotted
• 50 cm to 80 cm common fork length, 120 cm maximum fork length (at a maximum weight of about 30 kg)

Kingfish