 The legal size in Australia varies by state, from 35 cm and a bag limit of five fish per person in Queensland to 50 cm in Western Australia.During spawning, these fish obtain a metallic green sheen which indicates a high concentration of acid buildup within the scales' infrastructure.Minimum sizes are supposed to be designed to allow these fish to participate in spawning runs at least once before they become available to the fishery, but given the slow growth rates of this species, a need exists to consider area closures and/or further increase the minimum sizes in each state to reduce the chances of growth overfishing of the various populations of snapper throughout its range.