Greetings all,

I was reminded whilst down at sunny Merimbula the other month that although I have written about a lot of northern Australia fish species, I had neglected to cover off those commonly caught in our own backyard in and around Sydney. Acknowledging that fact I’ve decided to investigate the life cycles of some common and highly sort after fish species and this week we’ll take a look at the fascinating life cycle of pagrus auratus or the snapper.

An old man snapper (most large snapper are males) may live to a ripe old age of 35 years reaching up to 20kg in weight and about 1.3m in length! Spare a though for our South Australian cousins where 22 year old fish tend to inhabit Spencer Gulf. Some New Zealand websites claim that snapper can live up to 60 years of age! Larger snapper are sometimes impacted by hyperstosis (what the?). This means that they have a large knob on their head and sometimes even a bulbous nose (sounds like they’d make great politicians). There are many different theories for why this is the case. Some people believe that it’s a reaction against pollution whilst others think it’s caused from butting their heads against one too many rocks. One of the latest theories is that it could be purely genetic with only certain populations of snapper being impacted with this trait.

Snapper are a part if the sparidae family of fish which includes the humble bream. If you’ve ever caught both bream and snapper you may have noticed that they both have teeth that are tailor made for grinding whatever food comes their way.

Snapper are found in Australia from the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef right around to Coral Bay in Western Australia. They are common throughout New Zealand and populations also exist in temperate subtropical waters eg Japan, Taiwan, China and Indonesia.

One of the reasons that they are quite common (but becoming less so) is because they are serial spawners – they just love having kids between late October and early March. In fact they can spawn over 10,000 eggs up to 60 times in one season alone. They also spawn simultaneously in large aggregations of males and females which makes them susceptible to over fishing (remember this if you are catching larger sized snapper in big numbers). Snapper reach sexual maturity at about 28cm in length when they are between 4 and 5 years of age. They are actually a slow growing fish.

Spawining takes place in areas of little or no current in shallow areas less than 60m in depth. It is believed that spawning is more frequent at night time. Eggs float for a day or two close to or on the surface and hatchlings are up to 1mm in length. It is thought that early stages of the snapper are either mid or bottom dwelling living on small crustaceans and that they stay in a fixed area.

After several months they reach 1cm in length and at this stage they are perfect replicas of larger snapper. At twelve months they are female fish of about 10cm in length. When they mature at 4 or 5 years of age half of them become males. For regular readers of my fish life cycle posts you will be aware that sex change in the fish world is not an uncommon occurrence.

The age of a snapper is determined not only by studying the rings in the otoliths (ear bones) as in most species but also by counting growth rings on their scales (one ring is equal to a winter when growth stops).

Anyway, here is a rough guide to snapper ages…

1 year = 10cm
2 years = 16cm
3 years = 21cm
4 years = 30cm
5 years = 33cm (0.5kg)
6 years = 35cm

They then grow 1 cm in length every year after.

Enjoy the video below.

Sea you later,
Skipper Meggs

The short fin mako is a powerhouse swimmer

For those of you that have been following my posts on the Mako shark fishing ban you may want to take a look at the following link. I’d also recommend that you download the fact sheet about the three species listed as migratory species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Listing of porbeagle and mako sharks as migratory species

Today we’ll take a look at the life cycle of the Mako shark. The marvelous mako has been clocked at around 50 kilometers per hour and is clearly the fastest swimmer of all sharks. As a matter of interest in one of my old posts I discussed the life cycle of the fastest fish in the sea – the sailfish – which has been clocked at speeds of 110 kilometers per hour. In comparison a goldfish in peak physical condition can reach speeds of just over 2 kilometers per hour! But I digress…

The mako is an ovoviviparous shark. What the?

This means that the mako gives birth to live young after their eggs have hatched and developed in the womb. A healthy mako mother’s pregnancy will last between 14 and 18 months after which time they will set off for shallow water to give birth to between 4 to 18 young sharks. A baby mako is around 75cm when born and will already have a full set of razor sharp teeth! It must take a bit out of the poor female mako as she is said to take a break from reproduction for at least 18 months after giving birth. The length of time taken to reproduce and the long break afterwards means that the breeding capacity and potential of the species is quite low. On the upside because the young are quite large they are rarely preyed upon and have good potential to fully develop. In the ocean it pays to be on the top of the food chain!

Makos are internally fertilized by males who inseminate the female with claspers that develop on their pelvic fins.

The maximum age of a mako is said to be just under 30 years. Adult females are larger than their male counterparts and can grow to 4 meters in length and weigh up to 500kg. By the way, the porbeagle shark that is also caught up in the fishing ban is thought to live up to 65 years.


Male makos reach sexual maturity at 2m in length whilst females do so at around 3m.

Although listed as a migratory species over 11500 makos have been tagged in Australian waters and it is said to be a rarity to recapture them beyond our limits. A satellite tagging program that has been going for two years in South Australia suggests that there is little predictability or set pattern in mako migration.

Interestingly this appears to be contrary to makos in northern hemisphere waters who are said to be “highly migratory” and often travel “over entire ocean basins”.

Anyway, so there you have it. In summary with such lengthy gestation periods with few pups born there is a case to be had that overfishing would put pressure on the continued existence of the mako shark. The thing is this – populations within Australian territorial waters are not over-stressed by recreational fishermen. In fact it is the recreational fishermen that continue to tag and release these species. The more data we can capture about the habits of the mako shark will serve to protect the species for years to come.

Sea you later,
Skipper Meggs

A double bunger of blue swimmers with some already in the holding pen

A week or so ago one of the Fishing & Reef Tour Specialist’s crew, Morro and I took a well deserved break on Botany Bay. The fishing was tough and the Bay looked like a mess with the Desalination Plant being built. It’s hard to say whether this is a contributing factor to Botany Bay’s fish drought but on the surface of the water it truly looks like an environmental disaster with sections of the Bay kept boat free with weird looking floating objects snaking their way from one side to the other. Progress? I’m not so sure…

Anyway all was not lost as before we went fishing we threw out ten witches hats to try and jag some Blue Swimmer crabs. With Xmas coming on it seemed very appropriate. In NSW there is a limit of five witches hats per person so we were at our limit. At the end of the day we lifted the traps and were rewarded with 6 reasonable size crabs. Success! These were all headed for the freezer and then the pot.

But what is the story behind the Blue Swimmer crab?????

Well the Blue Swimmer crab (or Portunus Pelagicus) is part of the Portunidae family which also includes those sensational eating mud crabs that I’m yet to set a trap for this summer in the Georges River. The widest part of the crab, the carapace or shell, can grow up to 21cm and their claws can have a span of up to 80cm. They can weigh up to a kilogram. As their name suggests they are very good swimmers and their last two “legs” act as paddles. The paddles also have a tendency to snag the netting of a good witches hat! Males have a narrow pointed tail flap on the underside of their shell whereas a female has a wider, more rounded flap. Males also have blue elongated pincers whilst females have shorter grey/brown pincers.


In the autumn months the male crab begins to court the female for four to ten days by carrying her beneath him and fighting any other crab that comes near. Apparently the male assists the female in moulting her shell and turns her over to mate when she is still soft shelled. Afterwards he still protects the female for another three or four days to allow her shell to harden before dumping her and chasing other female crabs. Interestingly the female retains the sperm until the following summer when her ovaries are fully developed. This could also explain why most fisheries compel fisherman to release all female crabs regardless whether they appear to be carrying eggs or not.

A female blue swimmer crab will produce between 180,000 and two million eggs (I still don’t know who counts these things!) and carry them on her abdomen. Such a crab is said to be “berried”. The eggs will change from orange to black and will be incubated for about 18 days. The female will shake away the mature eggs which hatch into what is known as “zoea”. These float in the tide for four to six weeks and can be swept up to 80km out to sea. Most fall prey to other marine creatures but a small percentage make it to shallow nursery areas where they grow and moult numerous times before becoming the size of a 10c coin and taking on the shape of a crab. At this stage they are known as Megalopae and each time they moult they can increase their size by 20% and their weight by as much as 80%.

By autumn they are between 3 to 6cm in width and by winter they are at least 9cm wide. The winter months slows down their growth and before their last moult the females will mate with a male for the first time and start the whole cycle off again.

I am always amazed at the amount of male blue swimmers that are caught as opposed to females. I estimate that it’s probably in the ratio of 10 males to one female. This may be because the females are “busy” with their male partners whilst the males are more likely to be out foraging for food. If you have some theories on this I’d be happy for you to make a comment below.

Sea you later,
Skipper Meggs

The entrance to the middle of a drain is a great place to set your mudcrab trap

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 but 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

An unofficial Australian record salifish caught on a Whitsunday Bareboat

Well hello again!

This week has been yet another hectic one with a few additions to the www.skippermeggs.com website including video footage of what has been suggested is an unofficial all time Australian record sailfish. Caught by Gary Picken, a crew member on a Skipper Meggs voyage on a 35 foot Whitsunday Island Bareboat Cruiser, the photo here doesn’t do the catch justice but the video below will give you a better view.

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 length. 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. Sorry about the language but watch the video and you be the judge!

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

A small Fingermark prior to release

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

A small coral trout prior to release

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