The red snapper has been and remains a significant component of both the commercial and recreational fisheries in the GOM. campechanus and refer to the red snapper sensu Robins et al. blackfordi, and Neomaenis aya, all of which appear in the literature (e.g. Although the appellation 'red snapper' has been widely used to identify as many as 12 commercially marketed lutjanids (Camber, 1955 Carpenter, 1965), it is correctly applied only to L. purpureus (Rivas, 1966 Robins and Ray, 1986 Hoese and Moore, 1998). The species is replaced in the Caribbean Sea and southward by the Caribbean red snapper, L. (1999) nor from the Bahamas by Bohlke and Chaplin (1993), nor from Cuba by Allen (1985). Although Rivas (1966) suggested that red snapper may also occur off Bermuda, the Bahamas, and northern Cuba, it has been reported neither from Bermuda by Smith-Vaniz et al. The red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus (Poey) (family: Lutjanidae), is resident on the continental shelves of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and northwest Atlantic Ocean from the Bay of Campeche, Mexico, to Massachusetts however, it is found only occasionally north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina (Rivas, 1966 Robins and Ray, 1986 Hoese and Moore, 1998). Von Bertalanffy growth models for total length at age were significantly different for males and females, indicating differential growth between the sexes, with females typically obtaining larger sizes at older ages than do males. Among the 2546 specimens of known sex, both sexes evidenced rapid growth of individuals until about age 8-10 yr, after which growth slows considerably. Estimated ages ranged from 0.5 to 52.6 yr for individuals from 104 mm to 1039 mm total length and from 0.02 kg to 22.79 kg total weight. Opaque annuli were validated by marginal increment analysis to form once per year from December through June. We counted annuli and assessed edge condition in sagittal otoliths of 3791 red snapper collected from the northern Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana during the periods from 1989 to 1992 and from 1995 to 1998. However, the utility of this method for aging red snapper has been questioned by those who dispute both the apparent longevity (over 50 yr) of red snapper and the position of the first annulus within the red snapper otolith. Counts of annuli in otolith thin sections have been used to age many species of fish, including red snapper. Thus a dependable and precise aging method is of principal importance. Management strategies implemented to promote recovery of the species are dependent upon knowledge of various demographic variables, including the ages of individuals, the distribution of these ages (cohort strength) within the population, and maximum longevity. Abstract-The red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) is currently under rigorous federal and state management in the Gulf of Mexico because of apparent overfishing.

Circuli spacing and annulus formation