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Freshwater Fish of Victoria: Estuary Perch | FN0060 |
Fisheries Victoria, Melbourne
Updated: March 2007
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Common Name:
Estuary Perch
Other Names:
Perch, Gippsland Perch
Family:
Percichthyidae
Scientific Name:
Macquaria colonorum (Gunther, 1863)
Status:
Native | |
Description
Forked tail. Concave (hollow) head profile. Fairly long, tapered snout. Eye is moderately large. Large, oblique mouth, with the gape reaching to below the middle of the eye. Lower jaw protrudes. Moderate scales which are also on the cheeks and gill covers. Prominent lateral line. Black to dark grey or olive-green, silvery on the back, becoming lighter on the sides. Whitish or silvery belly. Sometimes has purplish or reddish tints on the head. All fins are dark coloured, often with a greenish tinge.
Distribution
Coastal stream systems along the entire Victorian coast. Less common in Western Port and Port Phillip Bay though historically abundant. Abundant in most streams and estuaries where it occurs.
Habitat
Rivers and lakes, most common in estuaries and lower freshwater reaches of coastal streams. Most abundant in estuaries and tidal reaches. Seems to prefer deeper and more saline waters than Australian Bass, but regularly found in areas with less than 1,000 p.p.m. salinity.
Brief Biology
This species can grow up to 10 kg, but is commonly much smaller, usual weight range being 400g - 2 kg. Appears to prefer more saline and deeper water than Australian bass, but moves regularly into fresh waters.
Spawning occurs in the mouths of estuaries in salt water during July and August when water temperatures are between 14 and 19°C.
Carnivorous, eating small crustaceans and fish, bivalve molluscs and worms. Feeds closer to the bottom than Australian Bass.
Other Notes
A good sporting and eating fish, it is not heavily exploited in some parts of its range (eastern Victoria) because of difficulty of access to streams and estuaries, and a general lack of knowledge of the abundance and distribution of the species and its sport fish qualities. Good fighting fish and is readily taken on artificial lures and baits such as worms and prawns. Distribution and abundance appears to have been affected by instream structures, flood mitigation work and pollution. The seasonal closure by sand bars of some estuaries, which prevents tidal inflows, may have marked effects on breeding success of the species.
Regulations
The Fishing Regulations specify Recreational Fishing Licence requirements and the means by which anglers may take estuary perch. Details of the licensing requirements and fishing regulations are provided in the Victorian Recreational Fishing Guide which is available free of charge from DPI Offices and RFL sales agents.
Further Reading
Freshwater Fish of Victoria is a series of brief information material on the native and introduced freshwater fish of Victoria's inland waters. Further, detailed reading on Estuary Perch is contained in:
- A Guide to the Freshwater Fish of Victoria, Phillip Cadwallader & Gary Backhouse, Department of Conservation and Environment
- Australian Freshwater Fishes, John R. Merrick & Gunther E. Schmida
- Biological Information for Management of Native Freshwater Fish in Victoria, J D Koehn, W G O'Connor
Acknowledgements
This Information Note was developed by Charles Barnham with the assistance of Gary Backhouse, Phillip Cadwallader and Tarmo Raadik. The previous version was published in April 1998.
The advice provided in this publication is intended as a source of information only. Always read the label before using any of the products mentioned. The State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication.
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