Island trevally
Carangoides orthogrammus
Illustration: Bloom by Day
A pale blue-silver trevally scattered with a handful of large yellow spots along the midside and washed with blue through the fins. It works sand patches and reef margins in small groups, nosing into the bottom for buried prey.
how to recognise it
- several prominent elliptical yellow to brassy spots, often with dusky centres, scattered on the midside
- pale brassy to bluish-green above, silvery on the sides and below
- pale brownish to bright blue dorsal, anal and tail fins
- adults have 6 or 7 faint greyish bars on the upper side
don’t confuse with
- Bluefin trevally — the bluefin trevally has MANY SMALL blue and black spots and electric-blue fins
- Golden trevally — the golden trevally's spots are black, and juveniles are bright yellow with black bars
- Giant trevally — the giant trevally has a steep blunt head and no yellow spots
Field marks read from Fishes of Australia, 2026-10-15. Our wording, their facts. Max size 75 cm TL.
facts
- habitat
- reef
- size
- ~45 cm, to 75 cm
Max size from Fishes of Australia (75 cm TL); 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 Frankland Islands (Cairns), Flinders Reefs (Coral Sea). 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 — None · Combined limit: 20 in total of all trevally species
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.