Blood snapper

Blood Snapper (Lutjanus sanguineus) inhabits coral and rocky reefs to depths of at least 100m. The stock status of this species is unknown.

Blood Snapper is caught by hook and line. The linefishery in Mozambique, composed of the industrial, semi-industrial , recreational, sport and artisanal sectors, uses traditional rod-and-reel methods and handlines to target approximately 179 species, the majority of which are reef and bottom associated although some largely open water pelagic and gamefish species are also of significant value. The fishery is likely to cause significant damage to some listed, overfished or highly vulnerable species, specifically, demersal reef species that are overexploited or overfished. The fishery has few discards and there are very few “non-target” species landed in the sector.

Blood snapper is found in the Western Indian Ocean from the Red Sea east to the Arabian Sea and south to South Africa. A management plan was developed in 2013 that includes all linefishing sectors. Management for the industrial and semi-industrial sectors (commercial fishery) is considered to be partly effective. The sector is principally managed by total allowable effort (TAE), although these targets have been exceeded significantly. Additional measures to reduce growth-overfishing and to minimise the impact of harvesting immature fish are size limitations and gear restriction. Management of the artisanal sector is virtually non-existent and of substantial conservation concern. The recreational fishery is regulated by a bag limit. There is a strategy to implement an Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) and some Ecosystem Based Management (EBM) measures have been put in place, however execution has been ineffective.