Australia country information

Common names: Fine-scale whiting, Silver whiting, Western sand whiting
Occurrence: endemic
Salinity: brackish
Abundance: common (usually seen) | Ref: Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve, 1993
Importance: commercial | Ref: Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve, 1993
Aquaculture: likely future use | Ref: McKay, R.J., 1992
Regulations: restricted | Ref: Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve, 1993
Uses: gamefish: yes;
Comments: Yellowfin whiting inhabit Gulf St. Vincent and Spencer Gulf waters in South Australia, and the water between Albany and Spencer Gulf (Ref. 27008). It is not known whether they also occur in the intervening waters. Stock structure: Western Australian and South Australian populations of yellowfin whiting do not differ morphologically (Ref. 6335). The concentration of yellowfin whiting in the gulfs in South Australia and their sparse distribution along the west coasts hints, however, at the existence of some level of population differentiation, and behavioural information on the 2 fished populations support this. Electrophoretic work performed up to 1987 has been inconclusive (Ref. 27573). Commercial fishery: The major Australian fisheries for yellowfin whiting are Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent in South Australia - all large marine embayments (Ref. 27012). There are smaller fisheries in the Blackwood River estuary, Geographe Bay, Leschenault Inlet and Cockburn Sound in Western Australia. In the late 1970s, the combined catch from northern Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent made up 63-65% of South Australia's landings for the species (Ref. 27648). The highest recorded catch from the Shark Bay fishery was in 1961, when 204 t were landed. In South Australia, yellowfin whiting are fished mostly with beach seines but also with bottom set gillnets along the edges of creeks. Ring netting using a drain-off shot method or power hauling are other techniques used. Nets are worked from the shore or from shallow-hulled boats. In Shark Bay, the whiting are caught with long gillnets on sandbanks (Ref. 27649). The yellowfin whiting fishery is conducted all year, although the highest catches are generally taken in winter (April to July) in the South Australian gulfs (Ref. 27017) or autumn to spring (March to September) in Shark Bay (Ref. 27649). In contrast, gillnetters in northern Spencer Gulf make their highest catches of yellowfin whiting during the summer months, particularly form March to May, at the time the fish are moving to the southern Gulf to spawn (Ref. 27017). In Western Australia northwards, yellowfin whiting form a minor proportion of the catch with other bycatch species. Yellowfin whiting can be easily scaled (Ref. 27649), and are marketed as whole fish or fillets. The entire South Australian catch is consumed locally, and much of the Shark Bay catch is also sold in South Australia and the eastern states. Recreational fishery: Throughout their range, yellowfin whiting are a popular target fish for boat and shore anglers using handlines. In the river inlet and lake sections of the Blackwood River estuary, southwestern Australia, yellowfin whiting and tommy ruff (Arripis georgianus) were the major species caught by recreational anglers in a 1-year survey from May 1974 (Ref. 27651), and yellowfin whiting were also important in the angling catch from the river. In the inlet and lake section the whiting alone, totalling 120,700 fish, formed approximately 55% of the catch. Yellowfin whiting are most abundant in the estuary during early summer months. Yellowfin whiting are commonly caught by shore anglers in metropolitan Adelaide waters (Ref. 27652), where they are subject to considerable recreational fishing pressure (Ref. 27648). Resource status: There is evidence that yellowfin whiting stocks were overfished during the early to mid 1960s (Ref. 27649). As of 1993, levels of catch per unit effort for this species in Shark Bay are well within the historical range for the fishery. However, there is no clear reason for both the low effort in the fishery and presence of fewer fish, despite the increased fishing capacity of the fleet over the past years (Ref. 27650). The status of yellowfin whiting stocks in Shark Bay is uncertain. There has been sufficient decline in the catches of yellowfin whiting in South Australia to warrant concern. In Northern Spencer Gulf, there are large fluctuations in catches of yellowfin whiting over cycles lasting several years. Catches in Gulf St Vincent have decreased substantially since 1976-77 and were so low from 1983 to 1986 that they represented only a bycatch from other targeted species. The reason(s) for the decline is unknown (Ref. 27017).
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html
National Fisheries Authority: http://www.csiro.au/
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve, 1993
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Gulfinnet sillago, Silver whiting, Western sand whiting, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Eupercaria/misc (Various families in series Eupercaria) > Sillaginidae (Smelt-whitings)
Etymology: Sillago: From a locality in Australia .
More on author: Peters.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; demersal; non-migratory; depth range 0 - 30 m (Ref. 6205), usually 0 - 2 m (Ref. 27657). Temperate; 21°S - 39°S, 111°E - 142°E (Ref. 6205)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Indian Ocean: endemic to Australia, from Dampier to Albany in Western Australia and Gulf St Vincent and Spencer Gulf waters in South Australia. It is not known whether they also occur in the intervening waters.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 22.5 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 42.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 27296); max. reported age: 12 years (Ref. 27008)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 11 - 13; Dorsal soft rays (total): 19 - 22; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 17 - 20; Vertebrae: 37. Its swim bladder is without a median anterior extension.

Generally frequent inshore sand banks, bars, and spits, and congregate in sandy hollows. At high tide they move in schools across the sand flats and retreat to the slopes of the banks when the tide falls. These whiting are principally marine residents (Ref. 27646, 27012), and can tolerate upper Spencer Gulf waters with salinity as high as 40-50 ppt (Ref. 6390). They may also penetrate to the limit of the brackish water in tidal creeks, where salinity is as low as 1 ppt (Ref. 6335, 27012). Juveniles inhabit warmer water, mangrove-lined creeks and inshore protected environments (Ref. 27012) over mud bottoms and seagrass beds (Ref. 6390). The spawning season commences in September and is completed by January in Shark Bay and slightly later along the coast to the south (Ref. 6390). Oviparous (Ref. 205), and are multiple spawners with asynchronous development (Ref. 27656).

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Multiple spawners with asynchronous development (Ref. 27656).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

McKay, R.J., 1992. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 14. Sillaginid fishes of the world (family Sillaginidae). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of the sillago, smelt or Indo-Pacific whiting species known to date. Rome: FAO. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(14):87p. (Ref. 6205)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Not Evaluated

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; aquaculture: likely future use; gamefish: yes

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Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 16 - 23.8, mean 18 (based on 175 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00575 (0.00272 - 0.01217), b=3.06 (2.89 - 3.23), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.2 ±0.2 se; based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.49-0.53; tm=2; tmax=12; Fec=170,000).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (27 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Very high.

Sillago schomburgkii Peters, 1864

Common names from other countries

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Biology Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

CITES (Ref. 128078)

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Threat to humans

Human uses

More information

Tools

Special reports

Download XML

Internet sources

Estimates based on models