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Freshwater Fish of Victoria: Bony Bream | FN0061 |
Fisheries Victoria, Melbourne
Updated: March 2007
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Common Name:
Bony Bream
Other Names:
Hairback herring, pyberry,tukari, melon fish
Family:
Clupeidae
Scientific Name:
Nematalosa erebi (Gunther, 1868)
Status:
Native | |
Description
Upper body is greenish to grey, lighter sides, silvery to white belly. Deeply forked tail. No scales on the head. The mouth is small and toothless. The lower jaw fits into the upper jaw when the mouth is closed. The last ray of the dorsal fin is very long.
Distribution
Distribution in Victoria is confined to tributaries of the Murray River downstream of Yarrawonga, where in some lakes the fish is very abundant.
Habitat
Present in a variety of habitats, mainly shallow waters such as lagoons, lakes and artesian bores; appears to avoid cool, fast flowing streams. Often found in muddy waters, and prefers weedy areas with a mud substrate.
Brief Biology
Can grow to 45 cm in length and 2 kg in weight, but more commonly found up to 25 cm. Spawning occurs in spring and early summer, but little is known about breeding behaviour or development of young fish. Omnivorous when mature, eating algae, aquatic plants, but also taking insects, small crustaceans and other food items. The Bony
Bream has a considerable tolerance to water conditions, being able to survive salinities almost that of sea-water and a wide range of water temperatures. A schooling fish, often found in large numbers in shallow water.
Other Notes
This fish is well named, having many fine bones through the flesh, which make eating difficult although the flesh is reasonably sweet and tasty. Not normally angled for in Victoria, they are a prime forage species for other larger, carnivorous native and introduced fishes.
Regulations
The Fishing Regulations specify Recreational Fishing Licence requirements and the means by which anglers may take bony bream. 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 introducedfreshwater fish of Victoria's inland waters. Further, detailed reading on Bony Bream 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 inVictoria, J D Koehn, W G O'Connor
Acknowledgements
This Information Note was developed by Charles Barnham PSM, with the assistance of Gary Backhouse, Phillip Cadwallader and Tarmo Raadik. The previous version was published in March 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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