Put some high smoke point oil in a pan, get it nice and hot, then lay the fillet in the pan skin side down. Put a glass lid on the pan. When the top of the fillet is opaque white, turn the heat off. Allow it to cool off a little before removing the lid and serving.

No flipping fillets. It comes out perfect every time and no mess 

Only time I scale is when baking

The way I see it, skinning fish is like discarding the crackling from a pork roast and no one in their right mind would do that 

I was 100% fanboy of legend Eric Mormon (known as Lethal here) and he gave me many words of sage advice, scaling when fresh and while underwater was one of those tips. Even at home, scaling a fish in a bin filled with water really helps keep the mess down.

When we do scale snapper and fillet it, it is pretty good no doubt about that.

Also just following on from that 'which fish is best' debate......

A few guys have mentioned disappointing results cooking thick fish fillets.

Cooked on outside...raw inside.

A common mistake and one that can be rectified by pan searing as you have done and then finishing in the oven to give it a chance to finish cooking without the direct heat in the searing pan. 180 degrees for about 10-15 minutes should have it perfect. You can test it by just sticking a fork in and checking the 'doneness'.

Just one thing, make sure the pan is able to be put into the oven! Burnt plastic handles give the fillet a lousy flavour

Next time will use fresh fish. And as MB said scale it at sea.

 We dithered over buying a weber Q , We use it more than the oven or cooktop  , and , at a pinch you can take it off the ( stupid ) trolley and chuck it in the back of the car when Sunday driving/fishing .