Fish identification archive / Blackfin Snapper

Blackfin Snapper

Lutjanus buccanella

Original educational illustration; not a photograph, occurrence voucher or exhaustive identification key. adult, sex unspecified.

Fun facts for your next surface interval

The dark pectoral-base mark persists in juveniles. [source]
The source reports a maximum weight of 14 kg. [source]
Adults typically occupy deeper water than juveniles. [source]

Florida and local context

REEF's cumulative volunteer diver-survey report lists Lutjanus buccanella at Spiegel Grove Wreck. This is a citizen-science identification, not an independently reidentified voucher or a current sighting report.

A documented past record does not establish present abundance or guarantee an encounter.

Sources: REEF volunteer diver surveys: Spiegel Grove Wreck

How to recognize this animal

Adults are orange-red with yellowish rear fins and a strong black patch at the pectoral base. The tail edge is only slightly indented.

Sources: Smithsonian STRI: species identification and natural history

Size and life stages

Smithsonian reports a maximum of 75 cm. The entry does not explicitly identify total, fork or standard length for this maximum. Juveniles are gray-brown with yellow tails. The source places juveniles mainly at 35–50 m and adults below 60 m.

Sources: Smithsonian STRI: species identification and natural history

Habitat and where to look

Sand, rock and drop-offs; total reported span 15–273 m.

Sources: Smithsonian STRI: species identification and natural history

Range and local context

The Smithsonian range account lists: North Carolina to northeastern Brazil. Local corridor evidence comes from Spiegel Grove Wreck, as documented separately in the REEF report.

Sources: Smithsonian STRI: species identification and natural history; REEF volunteer diver surveys: Spiegel Grove Wreck

What is on the menu?

The species report lists bony fishes, bottom-dwelling crustaceans, cephalopods. These categories do not establish local prey proportions or a preference ranking.

Sources: Smithsonian STRI: species-level ecology and reproduction data

Daily habits and behavior

Florida Museum describes blackfin snapper gathering in small schools. A group over offshore sand or rock is therefore a useful behavioral context, although neither group size nor a scheduled local encounter is established by that account.

Sources: Florida Museum: blackfin snapper

Mating and the next generation

The report lists eggs developing in open water and a free-swimming larval stage. Courtship details, maturity size and South Florida spawning dates were not established from this account.

Sources: Smithsonian STRI: species-level ecology and reproduction data

Look-alikes and identification traps

Among red snappers, check the pectoral-base patch and rear-fin colors together; juvenile colors differ substantially.

Sources: Smithsonian STRI: species identification and natural history

Observe without disturbing

Keep fins and equipment clear of the bottom and give the animal an unobstructed retreat. Photograph without touching, chasing, feeding, uncovering or repositioning it. Never move shells, reef material or vegetation for a clearer view. An occurrence record is not collection permission.

No scheduled annual closure; area rules apply

For blackfin snapper, FWC lists no minimum size, up to ten per person within the ten-snapper aggregate, and no scheduled annual species closure in Atlantic state and federal waters. Current federal 50 CFR 622.187 includes it in the ten-snapper aggregate; 622.185 establishes no blackfin minimum. Green describes the annual species season only, never permission at every site or a safe-to-eat finding. Federal snapper-grouper area closures, including St. Lucie Hump MPA, and sanctuary/park restrictions still apply. Reef-fish gear and applicable licensing/registration rules must be checked before fishing.

This scoped status is not permission to collect or a guarantee of food safety.

Harvest, collection and food status

Checked 2026-11-11.

Harvest status

No scheduled annual closure; area rules apply. For blackfin snapper, FWC lists no minimum size, up to ten per person within the ten-snapper aggregate, and no scheduled annual species closure in Atlantic state and federal waters. Current federal 50 CFR 622.187 includes it in the ten-snapper aggregate; 622.185 establishes no blackfin minimum. Green describes the annual species season only, never permission at every site or a safe-to-eat finding. Federal snapper-grouper area closures, including St. Lucie Hump MPA, and sanctuary/park restrictions still apply. Reef-fish gear and applicable licensing/registration rules must be checked before fishing.

Jurisdiction and closed areas

Vero Beach–Key Largo Atlantic corridor. Florida state waters extend 3 nautical miles offshore; adjacent South Atlantic federal waters have separate rules. Park, sanctuary, method and landing restrictions remain applicable. No trip clearance. Check the exact site before taking fish. The mapped Blue Heron Bridge dive site is closed to marine-life collection, not automatically to every form of fishing. Biscayne National Park prohibits ordinary ornamental collection; NPS describes a superintendent collecting-permit exception. Its mapped 1.74-square-mile area closes to fishing and fish possession March 1–May 31, with properly stowed continuous transit excepted. John Pennekamp allows fishing only in designated areas and has additional collection restrictions. Key Largo Management Area prohibits tropical-fish collection and spearfishing. Sanctuary Preservation Areas prohibit take; other conservation/restoration zones and marked access closures also require checking. These site rules override general species allowances.

Spearfishing

No corridor-wide spearfishing clearance. FWC prohibits spearfishing in state-park waters, within specified distances of swimming beaches, fishing piers and fishing bridges, and in Upper Keys state waters from Long Key north to the Miami-Dade line. Key Largo Management Area has an independent federal spearfishing and equipment-possession restriction.

Food and menu status

Species-matched food-safety advice and a dated, exact-species local restaurant menu were not verified. Menu status is unverified, not evidence that restaurants never serve it. No recipes or safe-to-eat claim.

Official sources

Identification and source cautions

Maximum length is not labelled TL, FL or SL in the accessed Smithsonian entry; do not silently assign a measurement convention.
REEF cumulative sightings are citizen-science reports, not independently verified vouchers, current abundance estimates or encounter guarantees.
Listed depth spans are species-wide source envelopes, not dive plans or promised local encounter depths.
The cited account does not resolve every life stage, daily activity pattern or local breeding season. Unverified details remain unstated.
Source images are reference material; no photo reuse rights are asserted.

Sources and review

Reviewed 2026-11-11; biological claims and this representative illustration independently checked. Photographs on cited sites are reference material and are not reproduced here.

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