LAUSR

Ages of cubera snapper, Lutjanus cyanopterus (Cuvier, 1828) (n = 106), collected from the southeastern United States coast from 2001 to 2015, were determined using sectioned sagittal otoliths. We determined that opaque zones were annular, forming April–August (peaking in May–June). Cubera snapper ranged from 4 to 55 yrs, and the largest fish measured 1422 mm total length (TL). Body-size relationships for cubera snapper were: TL = 1.02 FL + 12.76 (n = 28, r 2 = 0.99), FL = 0.97 TL – 9.65 (n = 28, r 2 = 0.99), and W = 4.9 × 10–9 TL3.16, where W is total weight (kg) and FL is fork length (mm). The von Bertalanffy growth equation for cubera snapper was Lt = 1495 (1 – e–0.05(t + 3.33)) (n = 106). Point estimate of natural mortality was M = 0.08, while age-specific estimates of M ranged 0.50–0.05 yr–1 for ages 1–55. Here, we present the first published findings of life history parameters for cubera snapper from the Atlantic waters off the southeastern United States. These data contribute to filling in gaps of basic biological information for data-limited reef fish species in the southeastern United States.