What is it?

[Daintreeboy]

Nope it's definitely not any of the suggestions put forward so far. KC mentioned the closest thing to an ID, but is in the same boat as me. Up this way we generally call them Bastard Emperor as at this stage there has been no official identification. Luckily we caught another small one just last week so I'll post some hopefully clearer photos when they're exposed.

[scottem]

daintreeboy it might be a lighter shade maroon perch i have caught the same thing and maroon perch out at tongue reef from port douglas they look close enough.
scotty

[Daintreeboy]

We might be onto something here. What is a Maroon Perch?

[scottem]

i dont konw if they are in the fish books might be in some.used to catch them in WA as well as port i have seen a few but as you said your photo was not all that clear.same family as hussars and moses perch,good to eat.was it a darker colour when you brought it up?
scotty

[Mugil]

Gday guys
a mate caught this (about a kilo and a half) at Smith Rock SE Qld, it's not a jack or red bass.
We eventually called it a 'dark-tailed seaperch' Lutjanus lemniscatus
It's in 'Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South East Asia' by Gerry Allen which is one of the better fish id books I've found.
I'm still not completely convinced. It does look a lot like daintreeboys.
Cheers
Geoff

[mackmauler]

Geoff, that fish looks just like a small red bass, a lighter colour than a shallow water one though, you say its not a bass though, what was the features that differ from a bass.

Rob

[Jack_Lives_Here]

Yeh would go with Rob on that one. The creases in front of the eyes sway it as a red bass in my way of thinking.

[craigie]

Yes I would agree with both Rob and Dave that Geoff's mate has caught a small Red Bass. According to Ern Grant, Red Bass are caught as far South as Cape Moreton. Compare Geoff's pic with this one of a Red Bass and you should see a lot of similarities.
I'm still not sure what Daintreeboy's fish is ??? Maybe the next photo will reveal a bit more ???

Cheers
Craig.

[Mugil]

It does look like a red bass, which is why I mentioned that it isn't.
It was caught a couple of years ago so I can't recall too many specifics which differentiate it from bass, however the longitudinal striping was not distinct as in bass, no pale patch below the second dorsal seen on many bass, the head profile is longer and slightly concave like a jack and unlike a bass.
The flash and angle of the pic unfortunately make the nasal groove appear more distinct like a bass, also it makes it difficult to see the faint gold reticulated lines that covered it's gill plate like you see on rosy jobs, maori seaperch and some other lutjanids but not on bass.
I have caught a lot of jacks and bass in different areas and depths and this caught my eye as being different from both, in fact my first call was a hybrid of the two, which is probably impossible naturally. I have seen the same fish in fish markets since, which would also probably preclude it being a red bass given their ciguatera status.
Cheers
Geoff

[craigie]

Hi Goeff,

Any luck with a positive ID ???

Did a Fishing/Tourist trip to FIJI a few years back.
While I was there I went and had a look around the seafood market in Nadi (up north on the main Island).
Well shock horror , they were selling whole Red Bass for human consumption.
Needless to say,I Chose the Chicken from then on .

Cheers
Craig.

[Lucky_Phill]

Upon further investigation.....I've had a re-think and I'm going with


Lutjanus gibbus ( commonly called Red Snapper ) anal fin, jaw markings and lateral line are the give away's.

Anyway, how did it taste ?

8) ???

[T-roy]

reef fish or somethin

[Gummtree]

At a guess, I would say it is a Humpback Snapper (Lutjanus Gibbus), cross between a red emp, jack and moses, grows to 50cm or there abouts, found in reef waters to 30-40 meters in depth.

Gummtree