Grey snapper (Lutjanus griseus) is a saltwater, freshwater, brackish species recorded in the United States. It is mainly found over reef, at depths of 5–180 m.
Scientific name: Lutjanus griseus · Water: Saltwater, Freshwater, Brackish
Size: up to 89 cm
The grey snapper is a lutjanid whose adults inhabit coastal as well as offshore waters around coral reefs, rocky areas, estuaries and mangrove areas, and sometimes the lower reaches of rivers, especially the young; it is found in fresh water in Florida and it is easily approached. It often forms large aggregations, and it feeds mainly at night on small fishes, shrimps, crabs, gastropods, cephalopods and some planktonic items; it is a good food fish, utilized fresh and frozen, and it has been reared in captivity. It is recorded from 5 to 180 m, and it also enters fresh and brackish water. Its range is the western Atlantic, from Massachusetts south along the United States coast and through Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean; records from Brazil are based on misidentifications, and records from the eastern Atlantic are vagrants. Maximum length is about 89 cm total length, commonly about 40 cm, and it can live 30 years, maturing at about 32 cm. It is a commercial species, a gamefish and a commercial aquarium fish, with a high price category. Fishing vulnerability is moderate at 41 of 100 and resilience low. IUCN lists it as least concern.
Caution: large individuals carry a ciguatera risk. Heat, cold and marinating do not remove the toxin, which concentrates in the liver, roe and head, so avoid eating those parts. Seek medical help if numbness, tingling or a reversed sense of hot and cold follows a meal.
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