Skipper Meggs Amidships

Greetings once again!

You will be pleased to know though that I am continuing to write my first eBook and with six chapters out of the way this is on track for the end of June so I’ll keep you posted on the www.skippermeggs.com site.

Ok, this week we’ll take a look at the humble bit oh-so-delicious mud crab.

In Australia there are two species of mud crab that can be distinguished by colour. The larger of the two is the green mud crab Scylla Olivacea and the other is the brown mud crab Scylla Serrata.

Thankfully the mud crab reaches sexual maturity very quickly. This is achieved in their second year when their size is between 130mm and 170mm (measured across the top of their shell).

At most phases in their lives mud crabs will be found in inshore areas but when spawning the female mud crab will head offshore during the summer months.

Mud crabs “moult” their shell as they grow larger and sometimes are referred to as rattlers because when they ”moult” their meat does not entirely fill their new shell.

Female mud crabs have been found some 30km offshore in over 300 metres of water with upwards of five million eggs ready to disperse hidden under their abdominal flap!

Luckily there are so many eggs laid as barramundi, sharks and cod love to eat them.

Incubation of the eggs takes between two to four weeks.

Interestingly the currents sweep the mud crab larvae back in towards estuaries.

Mud crabs live for three to four years and can reach sizes up to 240mm and weighing over 3kg.

Like the southern Blue Swimmer crab female “jennies” can be recognised by the round flap on their underside whilst the male has a distinct “V” shaped area.

Next week I will discuss the life cycle of one of the torpedos of the sea.

Until then don’t forget to take a look at the eBay clip at;

http://skippermeggs.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=102&Itemid=35

Sea you later,

Skipper Meggs

Well hello again!

This week has been yet another hectic one with a few additions to the www.skippermeggs.com site.

If you want to have a good laugh, why not visit the “Funny Stuff” section? If you have ever bought anything from eBay, or know somebody who has, then you would absolutely love this video clip;

http://skippermeggs.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=102&Itemid=35

Complete with an estimated speed of over 110km per hour this week’s topic for the Northern Australian fish life cycles series is the Istiophorus Platypterus commonly known as the Sailfish.

By the way, apparently the speed of the sailfish was estimated after 300 foot of fishing line was stripped in 3 seconds - talk about being spooled!

Also, for the record and by way of comparison, a well fed goldfish in peak condition can reach speeds of up to 2.3km per hour.

Ok, the Sailfish is common in tropical and subtropical waters in all three major oceans worldwide and is said to be able to eject its stomach out of its mouth and then suck it back in again to get rid of anything that doesn’t take its fancy after being swallowed.

Mating males and females will swim in pairs or two or three males will chase the one female (wouldn’t you know it!) obviously depending on how pretty she is.

Spawning can take place up to three times within a season and it is thought that the summer months are the most common times for the fish to spawn in relatively shallow water near reefs.

Over one million eggs will be released during this time and once fertilized by the male they will hatch within 36 hours giving birth to a larval stage of about 10mm in lenght. These will live close to the surface unfortunately making them an easy target for predators.

In fact, of the one million eggs produced only about half a dozen sailfish will make it to maturity.

After one year they reach a size of between 1.2 and 1.4 meters.

Sexual maturity is reached at a length of about 1.5 meters however there are certain assertions made that Western Australia sailfish reach maturity at 23kg whilst East Coast fish do so at between 30-35kg.

Adult sailfish can live up to between 10-13 years and weigh in at over 100kg. The world record sailfish is 100.24Kg and 3.4 meters in length. The Australian record is 78Kg although the members of the Fishing & Reef Tour Specialists (F&RTS) tagged and released a specimen from a bareboat in the Whitsundays in 2006 that would have tested that record.

A sailfish tagged in Queensland was recaptured thirteen days later after travelling 106 nautical miles.

It’s getting closer to the Weipa trip for Skipper Meggs and the F&RTS team so next week I’ll take a look at a special crustacean that our group may target whilst away.

Until then….

Sea you later,

Skipper Meggs

www.skippermeggs.com

Well I’ve been hard at work on my first ever eBook and it is beginning to take some shape and should be ready after our Fishing & Reef Tour Specialist’s trip to Weipa in mid June.

For those that haven’t noticed yet, I have included a link on the www.skippermeggs.com site to a You Tube video with some huge fish in it. You can take a look at;

 http://skippermeggs.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=10&id=31&Itemid=34

This week though I’ll discuss another member of the Trevally family - the Golden Trevally or Gnathanodon Speciosus.

Unfortunately little is known on how the Golden Trevally’s life cycle begins but on the basis that most large members of the species are found around reef areas it is likely that this is where spawning takes place.

The other clue to the theory that the fish spawn on coral reefs is that the larval and juvenile stage of the Golden Trevally’s development is spent living on the edge amongst the tentacles of either a blue bottle or portuguese man-of-war. This would point to the fact that the Golden Trevally spawn offshore so that the currents and winds would send their larval stages to the same areas where the jellyfish are likely to be.

Right, so living in amongst the stingers doesn’t sound like much fun does it? Well in fact this is quite a good defence mechanism and it actually ensures that the juvenile fish survive their early life as predators steer clear of the impending danger of stinging tentacles.

The young Golden Trevally on the other hand marinates itself with a mixture of its own mucus and that of the jellyfish so that it becomes immune to any danger of being stung.

As if this gutsy start to life is not enough once they grow to about 50mm they leave the shelter of the stingers and take up residence alongside large sharks!

You’d think they had a death wish from an early age but swimming in the wake of sharks helps conserve their energy and they just love the scraps of food that the shark leaves behind when they feed.

Not only that, what silly predator would even bother to have a go at them and risk running into a shark for their trouble?

Fish up to 3kg take up residence in rivers and are often caught when casting for mangrove jack and barramundi.

They are a schooling fish and will migrate up and down the coast. They will also feed on the sandy bottoms in shallow water and can often be found “tailing” ie feeding off the bottom of the shallows with their tails sticking out of the water.

Like my mother, Golden Trevally don’t have any teeth and those soft mouths and Mick Jagger lips are good for sucking food off the muddy bottom of a river or sandy reaches of an ocean floor.

Larger more mature fish will almost always live on reef areas and can grow to a size of 1 metre in length and are said to weigh in up to 35kg although interestingly the Australian record is only 15kg.

Next week I will start to review the life cycle of some of the Northern Australian pelagics.

Until then,

Sea you later!

Skipper Meggs

www.skippermeggs.com

Last week I travelled from Queensland’s Gold Coast through to the Harvey Bay region. 

Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve been up to the Sunshine Coast and I couldn’t help but remember a brace of good size bream I caught as a 5 year old in Maroochydore by casting under the Commonwealth Bank flat’s wharf whilst everyone else turned up empty handed as they tried to hit New Zealand with their lines.

The Harvey Bay area has also come on with a fantastic marina and rumours of another to be built sometime down the track. Compared to other major towns that I have travelled to in the past few weeks (eg Cairns, Townsville and Mackay) Hervey Bay still seems cheap with some houses valued in the high $200 to early $300K’s.

The F&RTS team also got together last weekend to pool all our fishing gear for the upcoming Weipa trip. It’s a great way to determine any gaps in what we’re taking away with us and also saves taking seven lots of individual gear.

Anyway, to this week’s life cycle story on the amazing Fingermark or Lutjanis Johnii - what a great name! 

Fingermark can be found from East Africa to Fiji and are easily identifiable by the big blotch (fingermark or thumbprint) just below the dorsal fin.

The Fingermark lives to a ripe old age of 25 years and can reach a length of just over 1 metre and weigh in at 15kg. A one metre Fingermark is roughly 12kg cleaned.

It would appear that Fingermark spawning varies with changes in latitude and is thought to occur during the mid summer months. Fingermark around Townsville are sexually mature at an average size of 70cm (4.5kg) and 8 years of age whilst up in Darwin that stage is reached at 45cm.

These fish spend their early days in the mangroves before venturing out to rocky headlands, islands or deeper turbid water. They can also be found in and around inshore reefs.

Although they can live up to 25 years, the Fingermark is a slow growing fish and by age 2 will be around 40cm and 1 kg in weight. At age 4 they are only 50cm. Queensland fishing regulations (sorry to keep picking on them!!!) have a minimum size limit of 35cm with a bag limit of 10 which puts this fish clearly in the category of potentially endangered.

It is a sad fact that when you combine late spawners with a system that allows the cull of immature fish, future populations are obviously jeopardised and once more responsible fisherman taking fish legally within size and bag limits are unwittingly contributing to the species demise. 

In the case of the Fingermark this is exacerbated by the fact that they hold fast in places like headlands, snags or pinnacles sometimes for a period of years thus making them particularly vulnerable to fisherman armed with GPS.

Anyway, until next week after 12 noon EST Friday - don’t forget to come back for a further installment of the life cycle of yet another Northern Australian fish species.

Sea you later,

Skipper Meggs

www.skippermeggs.com

During the week I took the opportunity to head out on a night fishing expedition in the turbid waters of Darwin Harbour. I can report that apart from a plague of small sharks the only decent catch was a 14kg Black Jewfish.

Now I know what you are thinking - yes I did write a post on the plight of the Black Jewfish but this was caught on a charter boat with paying passengers and I was not the one who hooked it.

Interestingly, the charter boat used straight hooks and the fish was hooked in the gut. The depth of the water was around 15 metres and this combination would appear to have stacked the odds against the poor old fish even if it was let go.

I also discussed the aspect of aggregation and territorialism with the crew and they believed this to be a good thing as it meant that they could rely on the black jewfish being around for their customers.

Ok, enough of that - this week I will discuss one of the monsters of the sea; the Giant Trevally (GT’s) or Caranx Ignobilis (sounds like an ex Roman Emporer). They are the largest of the Carangidae family that boasts members such as the Queenfish, Amberjack and other Trevallys.

These fish are spread from Japan to Australia, East Africa to Hawaii in warm tropical waters in both the Pacific and Indian oceans.

GT’s reach sexual maturity between the ages of 3 and 4 at a time when they are around 60cm in length.  Interestingly males outnumber females.

Spawning takes place during the summer months on shallow seaward reefs or offshore banks and the resultant larvae is thought to head to open waters.

At age one the GT’s are around 20cm in length and juveniles and young adults spend time schooling in turbid inshore, lagoon or estuary areas feeding during the day time. 

Once they reach about 40cm they will head out to reef areas, channels or inhabit inshore sand flats.

Large adults are solitary predators often guarding clear lagoons or seaward reefs to a depth of 80m and feeding on crustaceans and other fish at night.

These huge GT’s can live to 15 years of age, weigh in at 60Kg and reach lengths of 1.7

Next week I’ll discuss the life cycle of a fish that comes complete with its own thumb print!

Until then…

Sea you later,

Skipper Meggs

I managed to make a few minor changes to the www.skippermeggs.com site last week with another sensational Weipa fishing article added to the “Links” section.

I also travelled to Tasmania and believe it or not was caught in a huge dust storm half way between Hobart and Devonport.

When I finally reached my destination it was pouring with rain and the wind was still howling so I gave all thought of trying out a local seafood restaurant on behalf of readers and decided to eat in at the Motel. Great decision! I will update the site’s “Recommended Fish Restaurants” link with the results next week.

Ok, the Northern Australian fish life cycle stories continue and this week we’ll take a look at the coral trout which is actually related to the Cod and Grouper family known as Serranidae.

There is not one Coral Trout but several different species.

The most common is the Leopard Trout or Plectropomus Leopardus.

These fish have a blue ring around their eye and are generally found around the inner to outer shelf reefs in Northern Australia where the visibility in the water is around 5-10m. Interestingly where the visibility in the water is between 15-20 metres on the outer mid shelf you will find the highest density of Leopard Trout. They can grow to 70cm and weigh in at 6kg and live to 16 years of age.

The Bar Cheeked coral trout or Plectropomus Maculatus is mainly caught in the turbid surrounds of the coastal to mid reef areas (visibility less than 5 metres) and these fish are characterised by the fact that their spots turn into “bars” at the side of their heads. Bar Cheeks can grow to 80cm in length and weigh 8kg.

The Blue Spot or Footballer coral trout Plectropomus Laevis are all but exclusively outer reef and Coral Sea dwellers (where the visibility is between 25-30 metres) and these can be identified by the blue spots with dark edges on their head, body and fins. These are relatively large coral trout and can grow to 120cm and weigh upwards of 25kg and live to the ripe old age of 18 years.

Finally, the Passionfruit coral trout or Plectropomus Areolatus has large blue spots everywhere - and it is the only coral trout to have the spots under its belly. These fish are relatively scarce but can grow to 70cm and weigh 6kg.

Being protogynous hermaphrodites coral trout are the opposite to Barramundi.

What the??

This basically means that they begin their lives as females and change sex later in life to become males (as discussed in a previous post, barramundi begin life as a male and change later to become females). It therefore follows that small fish are generally female, whilst large fish tend to be males. It could also be extrapolated that the male of the species is best able to provide the necessary survival traits and genes to pass on to future generations.

Sex change happens between 23-62cm in length and on average at 42cm and most often after spawning.

Spawning itself is more to do with water temperature change than seasons or months of the year and generally occurs when the water reaches 25-26.5 degrees (September - December in the north and October - February in the south Great Barrier Reef regions).

What is interesting is that the coral trout aggregate in huge numbers to spawn. In the past I have fished in various waters where large sizes and numbers of either nannygai, morwong or even leatherjackets have appeared in plague proportions and I now wonder whether this was due to their spawning activity. Future posts will tell.

Anyway, aggregations of coral trout peak during the new moon when the tidal flow is strong (especially the ebb tide) particularly at dusk. It’s thought that this allows the eggs to be transported far and wide away from the reef and the lack of light prevents likely predators from getting in the way.

Ok, so what’s so special about the coral trout spawning? Well by the sounds of things it would be an event well worth the watching.

Aggregations of fish cluster around reef slopes in depths of 10-15 metres and individual males stake out their territory and begin to attract females by flashing the darkened edges of their fins on and off. In turn, the females lay close to the ocean floor and the schmoozing male virtually lies down next to it on its side with its head on a 45 or 90 degree angle.

Although it doesn’t quite have a beer and a smoke in its fin, the male shakes its body and head from side to side and with its underbelly rubs the female’s head or body. It continues this many times until finally a phenomenan known as a “spawning rush” occurs.

If the female agrees (complies?) the pair will swim really fast to the surface and once they turn they release sperm and eggs. Some fish, mainly males (wouldn’t you know it!), spawn a few times throughout the night.

As for the eggs, these are carried away by the currents and float below the surface. They are incubated for probably up to 45 hours and then the larvae lives off the yolk for awhile until it is completely absorbed. The young can then start to catch its own prey.

Juvenile coral trout are around 14cm in 6 months and reach 22cm by year one. At 2 years they are around 30cm, at 3 years 35cm and 40cm at 4 years of age.

Fish over the 60cm mark are at least 15 years old.

Next week I will continue with yet another post on the life cycle of a northern Australian reef fish.

Until then…

Sea you later,

Skipper Meggs

Well I had a great Easter but didn’t get the call to jump off the cliff and go hang gliding at Stanwell Tops. In fact, I now hear that it’s off the radar until June which is very disappointing.

I also missed out on a Port Hacking fishing trip with Mr Mowie Morro and Iron Guts Wayne due to a flat battery in the boat.

Morro (who is a whiz at anything) has the problem resolved now with a solar powered thingamajig that keeps the battery forever topped up - quite a clever idea and you can email me if you would like further details on that device.

I did manage to find a moment to put up a few worthwhile links to some great articles in the “Weipa Trip” section of  www.skippermeggs.com and if you are keen on fishing that part of the world I’d encourage you to take a look at them.

For better or for worse I have also included edited versions of the “Narrawallee Chronicles” and some of our rules in the “Bygone Voyages” area.

Personally, I think when these are viewed in isolation of other aspects of the trip they lose a bit of impact and my eventual aim is to perhaps present a consolidated view of each trip going back to the inaugural Tathra adventure in 1990.

Enough of this though, lets move on to more important things - the life and times of the incredible Bonefish.

Highly prized by fly fisherman around the world the primitive Bonefish can be found in the south pacific island regions, Australia and the Carribean.

It was originally thought that there was one species of Bonefish but the last known figure I could find was nine (6 in the Pacific and 3 in the Carribean).

In northern Australian waters the species most commonly encountered is the Albula Glossodonta.

In the Pacific the Bonefish spawn offshore in many months of the year around the full moon.

During the early stages of its life the Bonefish undergoes a larval stage where it appears as a transparent ribbon type fish some 6cm long with a small head living off absorbed nutrients from the open ocean. This larval phase can last between 6 to 12 weeks.

If the larval Bonefish survives its time at sea it seeks shallow water and undergoes metapmorphis, transforming into a smaller version of the adult bonefish half the size of its larval stage.

It’s not actually known where the juvenile and adolescent Bonefish congregate but what is known that larger juvenile fish tend to live in open sandy bottoms of deeper water.

The Bonefish also has a remarkable swim bladder with many blood vessels allowing it to function like a lung. This means the fish can “gulp” air at the surface and live in oxygen starved environments.

Around the world the maximum size of Bonefish is 8kg, whilst the Australian record is 4.66kg for a fish caught out at Swains Reef.

Believe it or not, a 3.6Kg specimen was caught in Sydney’s Port Hacking River using fish bait.

Growth rates also remain a mystery, however it is largely thought that a 2 year old fish is around 23cm in length. Bonefish are understood to mature at 4 years of age and 45cm and can live for up to 20 years.

Until next week,

Sea you later,

Skipper Meggs

Firstly thank you for all your well wishes for the postponed Hang Gliding expedition to Stanwell Tops.

It is rumoured that I might receive a call over the Easter break to jump off that same cliff this weekend. I’ll keep you posted!

On another note, if you haven’t had the opportunity to check out the “Fish ‘n’ Pix” section of the www.skippermeggs.com website take a look because my nephew Craig Baxter proudly displays a 78cm jewie that he caught off Bulli Beach last Saturday night.

I have a stack of photos that I need to load in that section so keep an eye out over the next month as it expands.

By the way, the most creative answer I have had to the “Name this fish” section of the Skipper Meggs website is “Kevin”.

Ok, this week I’m going to discuss the life cycle of a fish that is a cousin of the trevally family and after viewing the title of this week’s post you probably have already guessed the fact that it is indeed the Queenfish or Scomberoides Commersonnianus (a fish that causes piles?).

These tough fighting fish grow to over 120cm in length and can weigh in at 14Kg and are thought to live up to 15 years of age.

They prefer shallow waters or reefs, islands or estuaries and are not overly fond of deeper water or far offshore locations. 

They are found across the top of Australia from say Fraser Island in Queensland to northern Western Australia.

In 2005 the CSIRO conducted a study into the life cycle of the Queenfish that was co-funded by the Australian Department of Environment and Heritage and the National Oceans Office. Local fisherman in the Gulf of Carpentaria (including Dave Donald Sportsfishing Charters and the Weipa Sportsfishing Club) provided the study with some 300 Queenfish specimens that were caught in and around the Weipa area.

Queenfish spawning appears to occur from September through to February largely through the wet season with a peak during November. It is still unclear as to where spawning occurs (offshore?) but what is known that during the spawning season a female Queenfish will release around two million eggs.

Male Queenfish (no not Kingfish!) and females grow at more or less at the same rate and reach a length of 30cm in the first year and about 80cm at age 5. Their growth slows considerably after this time.

Interestingly the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries website claims the Queenfish matures sexually at 63cm whilst the study found that this is achieved at age 4-5 years at a length of 72cm.

The Fisheries website claims that size limits on caught fish are introduced to “generally allow fish to spawn at least once and contribute to the population before they are taken.” This makes complete sense and such a stance should be applauded to protect future fish stocks.

So what is the Queensland regulation in relation to bag and size limits for Queenfish?

Well if you are fishing in Queensland you can catch and kill as many Queenfish as you want at any length - only in the Gulf of Carpentaria is there a minimum size limit of 45cm, which as already discussed is well below the sexual maturity length of 72cm.

Well intentioned fisherman, catching and keeping Queenfish within size and bag limits in Queensland may actually be playing a part in the genocide of this species.

Once again, Skipper Meggs will be writing to the regulators in an attempt to extract some juvenile justice for the young Queenfish so that we can protect this species for future generations.

I will keep you posted with their reply.

Sea you later,

Skipper Meggs

Ever since I saw Sarah in a Toga at a party years ago I’ve been interested in her fishing namesake.

The Scleropages Leichardti (Italian resident in Balmain area?), or Saratoga as it is more commonly called, hails from regions as diverse as Africa, Asia, South America, New Guinea and of course northern Australia.

Believe it or not a member of its family grows to an enormous fifteen feet in South America but locally they reach lengths to 90cm and can weigh in at 17kg.

Saratoga are aggressive territorial freshwater fish who enjoy their own company and not much of anyone elses, including fish of their own kind.

The breeding season for Saratoga happens around late winter through to spring and fish around 4 years of age or 45-50cm in length are considered to be mature enough to take part in the process.

Interestingly the only time other saratoga leave their own kind alone is if they are breeding females.

Anyway, the female will produce between 70-200 eggs (who counts these things?) each about 10mm round. The funny thing is the fish carries these eggs around in its mouth until they hatch and will keep the young there for up to 8 weeks!

During this time the female will not eat anything until the kids are off her hands (or more to the point out of her mouth).

Fingerlings go off on their own once they are between 100-150mm in length. They then take up residency in a pool of their own and will grow to a size of 25cm in their first year.

You can tell they are surface feeding fish as their eyes are on the top of their head and they love snags, overhanging trees or bushes and like to be out of the prevailing winds -probably so they can see opportunities for quick snacks.

By the way, they taste terrible and have a tendancy to stink (you probably would too if you had to carry the kids around in your mouth) so even though there’s a bag limit of one per fisherman it’s probably best to release them once caught.

Sea you later,

Skipper Meggs

Mangrove Jack have always intrigued me.

It seems that every time I head up north and I look around at the mangrove lined river systems my thoughts always turn to this particular species. 

The Mangrove Jack or Lutjanus Argentimaculatus (I know - it sounds like a Serbian olympic discus thrower) is common throughout Northern Australia, East Africa, Samoa and Japan but has even been known to turn up (lost?) in Sydney Harbour.

They can grow up to 1.2m in length, weigh in at 16kg and can live a very full life to 40 years of age.

The Queensland Department of Primary Industry conducted a comprehensive study of Mangrove Jack in 2003 which turned up some interesting findings - one of which I believe to be quite sad.

Lets start at the beginning though.

The name “Mangrove Jack” conjures up a misleading picture of this great fighting fish as adults actually live and spawn offshore on coral reefs in depths up to around 100m.

Research indicates that after spawning the juvenile fish make their way to estauries and coastal streams during the wet season and some may even head to freshwater up to over 100km inland.

However, the highest numbers of Mangrove Jack reside in the estuary mouth area.

Tagged fish are generally resident in a particular spot with 73% caught within 1km of release point but don’t be fooled because one has been known to travel over 330km! Research shows that they can move intra and inter rivers, along the coast or offshore.

No Juvenile Justice for Mangrove Jack

Now here’s the sad part - all estaury, river based and freshwater Mangrove Jack are juveniles or more correctly sub-adult. They do not actually reach maturity until they head offshore to the coral reefs. Generally this occurs between the ages of 3-11 years when they are 23-40cm in length.

The Queensland study found 50% of female Mangrove Jack (Jill?) matured at just over 50cm and males at around 46cm.

So?

Well the issue is that the legal size of Mangrove Jack in Queensland happens to be 35cm with no limit on keepers (except for the Gulf of Carpentaria where there is a bag limit of 5).  

So why not spare a thought for the kids next time you catch a Mangrove Jack anywhere else but on an offshore reef?

In the meantime, I intend to write to the Queensland Department of Primary Industry and ask what needs to be done to change the regulations regarding the minimum size requirements of fish in this predicament.

 As always, I will keep you posted with their reply.

Sea you later,

Skipper Meggs