Longevity in Australian snapper Pagrus auratus (Sparidae)

In fisheries biology, longevity is one of the estimators of natural mortality, an essential parameter for age-based stock assessments. Increased fishing pressure progressively truncates older fish from the population, highlighting the importance of documenting observations of exceptionally old individuals. Snapper (Pagrus auratus) constitute important fisheries around the southern half of mainland Australia. A literature search and survey of government and semigovernment agencies responsible for managing snapper fisheries in 5 Australian states reveals the species is capable of living to at least 40 years throughout much of its range. The oldest recorded age, from near Bunbury, Western Australia, was recently estimated to be 40 years and 10 months.