Snapper Varieties of WA: Queen, Ruby, Moses & More

Q: Is queen snapper a real snapper?

No. In WA, 'queen snapper' is the blue morwong (Nemadactylus valenciennesi), a southern reef fish in the morwong family — not a member of the true snapper family (Lutjanidae). The bright blue-and-yellow markings around the eye are the giveaway.

Q: What is ruby snapper?

Ruby snapper (Etelis carbunculus) is a deep-water tropical snapper of northern WA — vivid red above with a white-tipped lower tail lobe. It lives on the continental slope from around 90m past 300m off the Gascoyne, Pilbara and Kimberley, and is a true Lutjanid snapper.

Q: What is the difference between pink snapper and the other 'snappers'?

Pink snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) is a sea bream and WA's iconic reef fish. Queen snapper is a morwong, ruby snapper is a deep-water tropical Lutjanid, and 'moses' and 'black' snapper are smaller tropical fish — only some of the WA fish carrying the name are true snapper at all.

Ask three WA anglers what a “snapper” is and you’ll get four answers. The name gets bolted onto fish from at least three different families, scattered from the South Coast reefs to the deep slope off the Kimberley — and most of the fish wearing it aren’t true snapper at all. It’s a naming mess that predates any of us, so don’t take it personally. This is a guide to telling the local “snappers” apart, and the rules that apply once you’ve worked out what’s on the deck.

The WA “snappers” — and how to tell them apart

Queen snapper (blue morwong)

WA’s queen snapper is the blue morwong, Nemadactylus valenciennesi — a handsome southern reef fish, silvery-blue with vivid blue-and-yellow lines around the eye. It is a morwong, not a snapper, and it’s endemic to southern Australia, holding on deeper reef, ledges and broken ground along the lower west and South Coast. (Worth knowing the name clash: on the east coast “queen snapper” means an entirely different fish again.)

It’s a boat-caught reef demersal in 20–100m, commonly 1.5–4kg and up to about 90cm. Look for the eye markings — they settle the ID instantly. The full picture is on the queen snapper species page.

Ruby snapper

Ruby snapper, Etelis carbunculus, is a true Lutjanid — a deep-water tropical snapper of WA’s north. It’s brilliant red above, paler below, with the distinctive white tip on the lower lobe of the tail that marks the Etelis genus. This is the fish that earns the snapper name honestly.

Ruby snapper live deep — rough bottom and slope ledges from around 90m down past 300m off the Gascoyne, Pilbara and Kimberley, often alongside goldband. This is electric-reel and heavy-handline country, not anything you’ll reach inshore. The white-tipped tail separates them from goldband and the other deep reds. See the ruby snapper species page for the deep-drop detail.

Moses snapper (moses perch)

“Moses snapper” — more often called moses perch — is a small tropical Lutjanid of the north and north-west, a genuine snapper-family fish but a modest one, usually well under a kilo. The dark blotch on the back near the tail is the classic field mark. Good to know it’s a true snapper; less exciting to know how small it usually runs.

Black snapper (and the mangrove-jack mix-up)

“Black snapper” is a loose, northern catch-all that gets used for a few dark tropical reef fish, and it’s where the confusion really compounds. The name brushes up against mangrove jack in particular — another red-brown northern ambush fish that newcomers lump in with the “snappers.” Mangrove jack are a different beast in habit and fight; the mangrove jack species page lays out where they actually hold and how they bite, so you don’t file a hard-fighting estuary brawler under “snapper” and rig too light.

The real pink snapper — and the pretenders

Amid all this, pink snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) is the one most people picture — and, fittingly, it isn’t a true snapper either. It’s a sea bream, but it’s so iconic in WA that nobody’s relabelling it now. Reddish-pink with blue spots over the back, commonly 2–5kg and to 15kg, it holds over hard bottom and reef and is one of the best table fish in the state. Mostly a boat fish, but land-based pinks come from deep rock walls and channel edges — the Dawesville Cut and the Moles among them. The pink snapper species page covers the land-based angle.

So of the local “snappers”: queen is a morwong, pink is a bream, ruby and moses are true Lutjanid snappers, and “black” is a name doing more work than it should. The lesson is simple — identify the fish in front of you, not the name on the esky lid.

The rules — most of them are demersal scalefish

Here’s why the IDs matter beyond bragging rights: nearly all these fish are demersal scalefish under WA management, which means they’re governed together rather than as individual species.

West Coast boat-based closure. A boat-based demersal closure applies across the West Coast bioregion (Kalbarri to Augusta) until at least Spring 2027. If you take a demersal from a boat there during the closure, it goes back. Land-based line and spearfishing for demersals can continue year-round, outside existing spawning closures.
Mixed daily bag. Demersal scalefish are counted within a combined mixed daily bag rather than per species, so queen, ruby, moses and pink all draw from the same limit. The figures differ by bioregion, with the Abrolhos and West Coast region tighter than the north.
New limits from 1 June 2026. Bag and size rules changed for the North Coast, Gascoyne and South Coast bioregions on 1 June 2026 — exactly the waters where you’d target ruby snapper and the southern queen snapper grounds.
Queen snapper minimum size is 400mm; ruby snapper has no specific minimum but still counts within the demersal bag.

Because these rules are mid-revision and zone-specific, don’t fish to a number from memory. Confirm the current bag, size and closure arrangements in the DPIRD Recreational Fishing Guide before each trip — they may change.

Where to find them

The southern reef “queen snapper” grounds sit off the lower west and South Coast — the deeper reef out of Albany and Esperance, and south around Augusta, all hold blue morwong on broken ground in settled weather. The deep-drop ruby snapper fishery is a northern game entirely — the continental slope off Exmouth and up to Broome, fished with electric reels and heavy sinkers over slope ledges. Different fish, different ends of the state, same misleading name.

FAQ

Is queen snapper a real snapper?
No. In WA, “queen snapper” is the blue morwong (Nemadactylus valenciennesi), a southern reef fish in the morwong family — not a member of the true snapper family (Lutjanidae). The bright blue-and-yellow markings around the eye are the giveaway.

What is ruby snapper?
Ruby snapper (Etelis carbunculus) is a deep-water tropical snapper of northern WA — vivid red above with a white-tipped lower tail lobe. It lives on the continental slope from around 90m past 300m off the Gascoyne, Pilbara and Kimberley, and is a true Lutjanid snapper.

Are queen snapper good to eat?
Yes — queen snapper (blue morwong) is very good eating, with firm, moist white flesh that holds together well and suits most cooking methods. Bleed and ice the fish on capture and it sits among WA’s better southern table fish.

What is the difference between pink snapper and the other “snappers”?
Pink snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) is a sea bream and WA’s iconic reef fish. Queen snapper is a morwong, ruby snapper is a deep-water tropical Lutjanid, and “moses” and “black” snapper are smaller tropical fish — only some of the WA fish carrying the name are true snapper at all.

Do the demersal rules apply to these snappers?
Most are demersal scalefish, so they count within the demersal mixed daily bag and are caught up in the West Coast boat-based demersal closure that runs until at least Spring 2027. Limits differ by bioregion and changed on 1 June 2026, so confirm the current rules with DPIRD before you fish.

Work out the fish, not the name — then check the forecast and the pink snapper guide before you head out.