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Yellowfin Bream
Acanthopagrus australis (Owen, 1853)
A Yellowfin Bream at a depth of 2 m, Bass Point, Shellharbour, New South Wales, March 2004. Photo © S. Schulz. View larger image.
A Yellowfin Bream at a depth of 0.3 m, Shiprock, Port Hacking, New South Wales, January 2002. Photo © E. Schlögl. View larger image.
A Yellowfin Bream at a depth of 15 m, Halifax Park, New South Wales. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.
The Yellowfin Bream is a member of the family Sparidae. Sparid fishes have moderate-sized scales and strong spines in the first dorsal, anal and pelvic fins.
They have canine teeth at the front of the jaws followed by conical or flattened molar-like teeth at the back of the jaw.
The Yellowfin Bream grows to 65 cm in length and about 4 kg in weight.
It lives in schools in coastal and estuarine waters. Coastal fish are silver, but those in estuaries are darker.
This species occurs throughout the Indo-West Pacific. In Australia it is known to occur along the east coast from northern Queensland to eastern Victoria. There are some old museum records of this species being caught in Western Australian waters, but its occurrence on the west coast is yet to be confirmed.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
The southern limit of its distributional range overlaps with the northern range of the Black Bream, Acanthopagrus butcheri. The two species look similar but can be distinguished by their colouration. The ventral and anal fins of the Yellowfin Bream are yellow, but those of the Black Bream are brown to dusky. The body colour of the Black Bream tends to be darker.
The Yellowfin Bream is a very important commercial and recreational angling species. Other sparids that are also favoured by anglers include the Snapper and the Tarwhine.
Related links
- Yellowback Seabream fact sheet
- View the Breams, Snapper and Tarwhine list
Further reading
- Carpenter, K.E. 2001. Sparidae. in Carpenter, K.E. & V.H. Niem (Eds). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 5. Bony fishes part 3 (Menidae to Pomacentridae). FAO, Rome. Pp. iii-iv, 2791-3379.
- Edgar, G.J. 1997. Australian Marine Life: the plants and animals of temperate waters. Reed Books. Pp. 544.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
