Primary Industries and Fisheries within the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation

Tools

Accessibility

Skip to:

Primary navigation


dpi note
Yellowfin bream (silver bream)
Acanthopagrus australis

Officers of DPI Fisheries

yellowfin bream

This is a regulated fish. See Recreational fishing rules in Queensland - Tidal waters for the current regulations.

Description

Yellowfin bream are one of Queensland's most popular estuarine angling species. They are also one of the most common of our commercial estuarine fishes and account for a significant proportion of the fresh fish marketed in southern Queensland. These fish vary in colour depending on their habitat. Those found in the surf are usually bright silver, while those living in rivers tend to be greyish green. In all habitats yellowfin bream have yellow pelvic and anal fins. They can be distinguished from the pikey bream by a conspicuous black spot at the base of the pectoral fin. Yellowfin bream can grow to more than 45cm or 4kg. They live for 5 to 6 years and reach sexual maturity at about 1.4 years. Bream can be notoriously timid, sensitive to noise and lights, and have set feeding patterns.

Habitat/distribution

This species inhabits coastal and estuarine waters of eastern Australia from the Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland to Gippsland in Victoria. They are most abundant in estuaries, but also inhabit inshore reefs to a depth of about 35m and waters adjacent to ocean beaches and rocky headlands. They can be found in rivers, upstream to the limit of brackish waters but rarely enter fresh water. Bream form into shoals of several hundred fish, and during spawning season (winter) the larger fish tend to group in schools of similar sized fish. Yellowfin bream associate with a variety of substrates from sand and mud to rocky sections of river bed.

Further information

Department of Primary Industries. (2002). Fish Guide. Saltwater, Freshwater and Noxious Species. The Great Outdoors Publications, Brisbane.

Grant, E.M. (2002). Grant's Guide To Fishes. E.M. Grant Pty Limited, Brisbane.

Note: Some information in this publication may change from time to time (especially size and in-possession limits). You should contact your nearest Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol or the DPI&F Business Information Centre (13 25 23) for latest fisheries regulations and information.

This DPI Note is also published on the DPI&F's PrimeNotes CD-ROM.

Information contained in this publication is provided as general advice only. For application to specific circumstances, professional advice should be sought. The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries Queensland has taken all reasonable steps to ensure the information in this publication is accurate at the time of publication. Readers should ensure that they make appropriate inquiries to determine whether new information is available on the particular subject matter.

File No: f00036
Last reviewed 23 December 2003
 

© The State of Queensland, (Primary Industries and Fisheries within the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation) 1995-2009.
Copyright protects this material. Except as permitted by the Copyright Act, reproduction by any means (photocopying, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise), making available online, electronic transmission or other publication of this material is prohibited without the prior written permission of The Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, Queensland. Inquiries should be addressed to copyright@dpi.qld.gov.au (Queensland residents phone 13 25 23; non-Queensland residents phone 61 7 3404 6999).