Mullet Snapper, Lutjanus aratus
Mullet Snapper, Lutjanus aratus. Fish caught off a pier in Golfito Costa Rica, Costa Rica, March 2011. Length: 23 cm (9.1 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of George Brinkman, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Identification reconfirmed by H.J. Walker, Jr., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California.
Mullet Snapper, Lutjanus aratus. Fish caught from shore at Los Barriles, Baja California Sur, December 2019. Length: 43 cm (17 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Chip Shapley, Los Barriles.
Mullet Snapper, Lutjanus aratus. Fish caught from coastal waters off La Paz, Baja California Sur, June 2020. Length: 61 cm (2 feet 0 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Dr. Benjamin Victor, Coralreeffish.com.
Mullet Snapper, Lutjanus aratus. Fish caught from shore at Los Barriles, Baja California Sur, January 2017. Length: 88 cm (2 feet 11 inches). Catch and photograph courtesy of Brad Murakami, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.
Mullet Snapper, Lutjanus aratus. Fish caught form coastal waters off Jaco, Costa Rica, December 2020. Length: 1.09 m (3 feet 7 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Chris Wheaton, Fullerton, California.
The Mullet Snapper, Lutjanus aratus, whose common Spanish name is pargo raicero, is a member of the Snapper or Lutjanidae Family, and is known in Mexico as pargo raicero. Globally, there are sixty-seven species in the genus Lutjanus, of which nineteen are found in Mexican waters, ten in the Atlantic and nine in the Pacific Ocean.
The Mullet Snapper has an elongated body that are greenish-gray in color and darker on the back. The center of each scale is yellowish-white, which gives the appearance of alternating dark and light stripes on their sides. Their caudal fin is dark red-brown. Their anal fin has 3 spines and 7 or 8 rays and is rounded; their caudal fin is concave; their dorsal fin is continuous 11 or 12 spines and 12 rays and is rounded; and their pectoral fins have 15 rays. They have 11 or 12 gill rakers on the lower arch and 16 or 17 in total. They have large prominent scales on their upper back in rows that run parallel to the lateral line.
The Mullet Snapper is found in large aggregations at mid-water over rocky bottoms at depths up to 60 m (200 feet). Juveniles can be found in coastal bays and estuaries. They reach a maximum of 1.05 m (3 feet 5 inches) in length and 15 kg (33 lbs) in weight. As of January 1, 2024, the International Game Fish Association world record for length stood at 1.05 m (3 feet 5 inches) with the fish caught from coastal waters off Panama in January 2016. The corresponding world record for weight stood at 20.87 kg (46 lbs 0 oz) with the fish caught in coastal waters off Cerralvo Island, Baja California Sur in May 2021. The Mullet Snapper is a very rare species and is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.
The Mullet Snapper is a resident of all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean with the exception that they are absent from north of Guerrero Negro, Baja California, and the northern 30% of the Sea of Cortez. I have seen photographs of large Mullet Snappers taken in the greater La Paz area, however, this species is an unknown in the Cabo San Lucas and Todos Santos areas of Baja California Sur.
The Mullet Snapper can be confused with the Golden Snapper, Lutjanus inermis (oblique scale lines above lateral line, 10 dorsal spines, 11 anal rays) and the Whipper Snapper, Lutjanus jordani (silvery appearance, 10 dorsal spines, 9 anal rays).
From a conservation perspective the Mullet Snapper is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. In some regions that are considered to be commercially important, and it is easily caught since they aggregate in large groups. They are marketed fresh.