BARRED SNAPPER
Hoplopagrus guentheri
English: Pargo, Barred Pargo, Mexican Barred Pargo, Mexican Barred Snapper
Spanish: Coconaco
The Barred Pargo is a rather easy fish to identify with its all-brown head and about six alternating wide and narrow white bars running down its side. The Barred Pargo's bars are quite pronounced upon collection but fade quickly over time, as illustrated in the photos below.
It grows to three feet in length but actually catching one this size is virtually an impossible feat since the species is becoming rare and it prefers depths of up to 100 feet “in the rocks with caves.” Getting them out of the rocks or caves is a major undertaking requiring a great deal of strength and luck.