Gray Snapper
Pargo mulato
Lutjanus griseus · Lutjanidae
- Category
- Snapper & Pargo
- Found in
- Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean
- IUCN status
- Least Concern
About Gray Snapper in Mexico
How to recognize it
Better known to many visitors as the mangrove snapper, this is a gray-green to coppery fish with a darker back, a pointed snout and two prominent canine teeth at the front of the upper jaw. Young fish often show a dark bar running from the snout through the eye. Unlike the mutton or lane snapper, it has no black spot on the side, and its dorsal fin has a thin dark margin.
Where and when in Mexico
Pargo mulato is common along the entire Gulf and Caribbean coast. Juveniles crowd the mangrove lagoons, seagrass beds and estuaries of Laguna de Términos, Celestún, Holbox, Sian Ka'an and Chetumal Bay, while adults move out to rocky jetties, wrecks and reefs off Tampico, Veracruz, Campeche and the Quintana Roo coast. Inshore fish are present year-round, so the main variable is water clarity and tide rather than season. Lagoon fish usually weigh one to three pounds; reef and wreck fish can be considerably larger.
How it's fished
Shrimp, small live baitfish or cut sardine on a light fluorocarbon leader fished tight to mangrove roots and docks is the go-to approach. Small jigs, soft plastics and streamer flies work well for anglers poling flats or skiffs in Ascension Bay and the Yucatán lagoons, where gray snapper are a common bonus while hunting bonefish and permit. Offshore, they are caught bottom fishing over structure.
Good to know
Gray snapper are notoriously line-shy in clear water, so thin leaders and small hooks make a real difference. The fillets are white, mild and highly regarded.
Fishing rules in Mexico
- General limit: 10 fish per angler per day, max 5 of one species
Source: NOM-017-PESC-1994 §4.9.1 (2013 mod.). Rules change; confirm current limits, seasons and permits with CONAPESCA before you fish.
