Fish study species - Office of the Environmental Monitor
Black bream information | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Black bream | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Description: | |||||||||
| The black bream is a robust, deep body, single dorsal fin fish. It has a sharply rounded snout and a moderate sized mouth that reaches back to level with the rear of a moderate size eye, which is situated high on the side of the head. The black bream's upper jaw is longer than the lower jaw. Both jaws have well developed teeth. It has large scales on the body and a prominent lateral line. The scales are gold-brown to bronze, with greenish iridescence on the back and sides. The black bream's head is darker, often brown-blue to brown-purple. Underside, including chin, is usually creamy white. Its fins are dusky brown. | |||||||||
| Distribution: | |||||||||
| Common in all coastal drainages. | |||||||||
| Habitat: | |||||||||
| Black bream is strictly an estuarine and freshwater fish, rarely found in the sea. It occurs in a variety of habitats including estuaries over sand-gravel bottoms, soft mud flats and in weedy areas, the lower reaches of large rivers, and in coastal lakes. | |||||||||
| Brief biology: | |||||||||
| Black bream can reach up to 60cm in length and 4kg in weight, although commonly smaller. Available data indicates that it takes approximately nine years for black bream to reach the legal minimum length of 26cm. Black bream become sexually mature at three to four years of age. Its spawning season is between August and January and occurs first in eastern Victoria then progressively to the west. Salinities of 11,000 to 18,000 p.p.m. are required for spawning to occur. Mature black bream females can produce between one to three million eggs, which are very small and hatch in about two days. Black bream are omnivorous and feeding on shellfish, worms, crustaceans, small fish and plant material including algae. | |||||||||
| Other information: | |||||||||
| Black Bream are rarely found at sea, although some limited movement between estuaries appears to occur. It is is an important recreational and commercial species and a tasty food fish. | |||||||||
| Return to the 2009 Lower Yarra River Fish Study page |
