Chinaman fish
Symphorus nematophorus
Illustration: Bloom by Day
PROTECTED — look, don't shoot
A deep red-brown snapper with fine blue lines scribbled over the head and flank, and the thing that names it — the rear rays of the dorsal fin drawn out into long trailing filaments, which no other fish on the reef has. It is NO TAKE in Queensland, partly for its own sake and partly because it is a known ciguatera risk.
how to recognise it
- at least one dorsal-fin ray drawn out into a long trailing filament
- a steep snout profile with high dorsal and anal fins
- broad irregular pale and dark bars on the sides
- greyish brown to reddish
Field marks read from Fishes of Australia, 2026-10-13. Our wording, their facts. Max size 80 cm TL.
facts
- habitat
- reef
- size
- ~60 cm, to 80 cm
Max size from Fishes of Australia (80 cm TL); the typical size is Bluebird’s, not from a cited source
- records
- 413 at 36 spot(s), none of
them in this region
Recorded at Lizard Island — Cod Wall, Cod Hole (Ribbon Reefs GBR), Low Isles (Port Douglas), Port Douglas (Outer GBR), Green Island (Cairns), Fitzroy Island (Cairns), Magnetic Island — Geoffrey Bay, SS Yongala Wreck, Hardy Reef (Whitsundays), Bait Reef (Whitsundays), Hayman Island — Blue Pearl Bay, Hook Island — Manta Ray Bay, Border Island (Whitsundays — East), Tongue Bay (Whitsunday — North), Cid Harbour (Whitsunday — West), Pioneer Rocks (Whitsundays), Cairns Reef (Great Barrier), Heron Island (GBR), Erskine Island, Lady Musgrave Island, Lady Elliot Island (GBR), Moreton Island — Eastern Beach, Moreton Island — NW Bay (Bulwer), Tangalooma Wrecks (Moreton Is.), Redcliffe Jetty, Point Lookout (N Stradbroke), Cylinder Beach (N Stradbroke), Amity Point (N Stradbroke — Bay), Dunwich Jetty (N Stradbroke — Bay), Montebello Islands (WA), Delambre Island (Dampier WA), Dampier Archipelago (WA), Muiron Islands (Exmouth WA), Exmouth (Navy Pier WA), Ningaloo Reef (WA), Coral Bay (WA). A count of occurrence records, not abundance. Records are where someone looked.
when it has been recorded
JFMAMJJASOND
A gap means no record in the sample, not absence.
the rule
QLD — No take
source
· verified 2026-10-10
no NSW rule listed — check before you dive
QLD s 23 — closed season 6 November 2026 to 10 November 2026 (20 windows listed)
as regulated coral reef fin fish = any species in Fisheries (General) Regulation 2019, sch 7 pt 2 (tables 1-9) — table 8 (tropical snapper and seaperch)
where: coral reef fin fish waters — tidal waters within the boundary from the northern tip of Cape York along latitude 10º41' south ... to latitude 24º50' south, longitude 154º east ... along latitude 24º50' south to the mainland shore
Whether it applies where you dive depends on the spot — open that spot on the map and press “fish here”.
Fisheries Declaration 2019 · Reprint current from 25 September 2026 to date · read 2026-10-13
Rules checked 2026-10-13 against qld.gov.au
Rules change. Check before you dive.
Occurrence data: Atlas of Living Australia (ala.org.au), CC-BY 4.0.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.