In a recent collection of frames from the Illawarra area, one of the reds donated was a 68cm fish that was aged at a staggering 40 years old. This means it was born in 1981! Not only is this fish the oldest aged for the RAP, but it is also the oldest snapper aged from NSW waters. It is also equal to the oldest known snapper aged in Australia; a 40-year-old fish caught of Western Australia.
From the frames donated by keen anglers to this program, our five oldest snapper have all come from the Illawarra area, see the graph below. This slow growth rate in reds from the South Coast has been demonstrated in many of the samples NSW DPI have collected in the program. Typically, snapper from northern NSW will have a faster growth rate and measure much longer for their age when compared to these southern fish.
Exciting discoveries such as this show that any frame donated to the RAP could provide interesting new data on your favourite species and better help us manage them into the future.
If you are interested in learning more about the RAP or getting involved, follow this link https://bit.ly/31laTTW.
The RAP is another example of your fishing licence at work.
