Adult northern red snappers enjoy a status towards the top of the food chain, although they aren’t immune to predators. Sharks, marine mammals, and larger fish are their most common predators. Younger snappers have far more predators, as they’re a good eating size for medium and medium-large fish.

On hard bottoms and rocky and artificial reefs throughout their range, northern red snappers are one of the top predators, but adults are eaten by sharks, very large bony fishes, and marine mammals, and juveniles are eaten by a variety of medium to large fishes.

Predators of adult northern red snapper include sharks and other large piscivorous fishes. Juvenile red snapper are prey for a wide variety of marine organisms.

Despite being a top predator, Northern Red Snappers fall prey to larger species like sharks and barracudas. They have been known to produce a drumming sound when they feel threatened, created by vibrating their swim bladder.

Predators Natural predators of all life stages of this snapper are numerous and include sharks, barracuda, grouper, moray eels and other snapper species.