This is what a Snapper looks like.

Snapper would be one of the most sort after fish in New Zealand.

Name: Snapper (Pagrus auratus)

Family: Sparidae (Porgies)

Order: Perciformes  (perch-likes)

Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)

Alternative Name: Snapper

Max size: 70.0 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 35388); max. published weight: 17.2 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 11 years

Environment: Demersal; freshwater; brackish; marine; depth range 1 - 150 m

Climate: Subtropical; 60°N - 14°N, 26°W - 36°E

Importance: Fisheries: commercial; Aquaculture: commercial; Gamefish: yes

Resilience: Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.28; tmax=11)

Distribution: Eastern Atlantic: British Isles, Strait of Gibraltar to Cape Verde and around the Canary Islands. Also in the Mediterranean. Reports from New Zealand refer to Pagrus auratus (Foster 1801) (Ref. 5755, 9258). Reported from the Black Sea (Ref. 12781).

Diagnosis: Dorsal spines (total): 11; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13-14; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 11-12. Body tall, with large black spot on the gill cover. Snout more than twice as long as the eye diameter (Ref. 35388)