Queen snapper (Etelis oculatus) is a saltwater species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of 100–450 m.
Scientific name: Etelis oculatus · Water: Saltwater
Size: up to 100 cm
The queen snapper is a lutjanid whose adults inhabit rocky bottoms and feed mainly on small fishes and squids, and it is abundant near oceanic islands. Small individuals are taken as by-catch in trawl fisheries. It is recorded from 100 to 450 m. Its range is the western Atlantic, from Bermuda and North Carolina through the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean to São Paulo in Brazil, including the Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas islands. Maximum length is about 100 cm total length, commonly about 64 cm, and it matures at about 31 cm. It is a commercial species and a gamefish, marketed mostly fresh and sometimes frozen and of good quality, with a very high price category. Fishing vulnerability is low to moderate at 34 of 100 and resilience medium. IUCN lists it as data deficient.
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