Australian bass
Percalates novemaculeata (formerly Macquaria novemaculeata)
Illustration: Bloom by Day
A dark olive river fish with an upturned mouth, a jutting lower jaw and white tips on the anal and pelvic fins — the white is the mark that separates it from an estuary perch. It holds station beside snags and rock in coastal rivers and takes anything that falls in.
how to recognise it
- anal and pelvic fins with WHITE TIPS, and the outermost front rays of the pelvic fins white
- dark olive to greenish-grey above, off-white or yellowish-white below
- fins otherwise greyish to colourless, with the pectoral fins darker at the base
- a straight to slightly convex head profile, a relatively large eye, a short snout and a slightly forked tail
- freshly caught fish often show red eyes, which fades once they are out of the water
Field marks read from Fishes of Australia, 2026-10-15. Our wording, their facts. Max size 60 cm SL; 3.8 kg.
facts
- habitat
- estuary
- size
- ~30 cm, to 60 cm
Max size from Fishes of Australia (60 cm SL; 3.8 kg); the typical size is Bluebird’s, not from a cited source
- records near here
- 2 at 1 of 6 spots
A count of occurrence records near these spots, not abundance. Records are where someone looked.
when it has been recorded
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A gap means no record in the sample, not absence.
the rule
QLD — Min: 30cm · Limit: 2
source
· verified 2026-10-10
NSW — only 1 over 35 cm · 2 (closed season in rivers and estuaries May-Aug)
source
· verified 2026-10-01
no closed season recorded for this species — that is not the same as open; check the official page
Rules checked 2026-10-13 against qld.gov.au
Rules change. Check before you dive.
Occurrence data: Atlas of Living Australia (ala.org.au), CC-BY 4.0.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.