Barramundi
Lates calcarifer
Illustration: Bloom by Day
A big silver estuary predator with a dished forehead, a pointed snout and a mouth that opens past the eye; the eye glows red in a torch. It sits in snags, creek mouths and rock bars waiting for something to come past, and almost never chases.
how to recognise it
- a distinctly CONCAVE head profile with a pointed snout
- long, silver to greenish-grey or greyish-blue, with a pale underside
- brown to dark grey fins
- a brown to golden eye that glows bright red in a torch beam at night
Field marks read from Fishes of Australia, 2026-10-15. Our wording, their facts. Max size 200 cm TL; 60 kg.
facts
- habitat
- estuary
- size
- ~70 cm, to 200 cm
Max size from Fishes of Australia (200 cm TL; 60 kg); the typical size is Bluebird’s, not from a cited source
- records
- 4 at 2 spot(s), none of
them in this region
Recorded at Pioneer Rocks (Whitsundays), Pumicestone Passage (Bribie — West). A count of occurrence records, not abundance. Records are where someone looked.
when it has been recorded
JFMAMJJASOND
A gap means no record in the sample, not absence.
the rule
QLD — Min: 58cm Max: 120cm · Limit: 5 per person, or 10 per boat (with 2 or more people on board)
source
· verified 2026-10-10
no NSW rule listed — check before you dive
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.