Abstract

Lane Snapper Lutjanus synagris is a reef-associated species that ranges from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean south to southeastern Brazil. In the United States, recreational harvest is greatest off southern Florida, where life history information is limited. No formal stock assessment has been completed on Lane Snapper, though they were included as a data-limited species in a recent regional assessment, SEDAR 49, due to the fact that history characteristics haven’t been described throughout their range (SEDAR 2016). SEDAR 49 utilized the best-available data (Johnson et al. 1995) for age, growth, and mortality assessment metrics, but this study was limited to Lane Snapper sampled only in the northern and western Gulf of Mexico, which was not representative of the entire range of the species. As such, a study incorporating samples from a more comprehensive distribution of their range would better represent the population as a whole.