The ratio of natural mortality to the von Bertalanffy growth coefficient (M/K), and asymptotic length (Linf), jointly determine the shape of fish length distributions in unfished populations and are key parameters for widely used length-based stock assessment methods. However, empirical estimates of these parameters are scarce, largely because their estimation relies on ageing and tagging studies, which are logistically challenging. Using a method that we recently developed (Kurniawan et al. 2026, Fisheries Research), we estimated M/K and Linf for 79 species using unfished length composition data from the Reef Life Survey program. Relating these parameters to temperature, we found that M/K generally increased, whereas Linf more often decreases in warmer conditions. The estimated Linf showed clear correlation with the known maximum length, which is certainly expected. Across species there was no apparent correlation between the estimated M/K and Linf, empirical maximum length, or trophic group. We also estimated a coefficient of variation of size-at-age and found that for many species it ranged around 13-19%, which is higher than commonly used values. Our study confirms earlier findings that M/K and Linf have high among-population variability, suggesting that transferring life-history parameters between populations within species for data-poor assessment should be done carefully. Overall, we found that our method is likely to provide reasonable estimates of life-history parameters from just length observations, especially if also considering high uncertainties associated with traditional M/K and Linf value estimation.