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Western Australian Salmon

Western Australian Salmon

Arripis Truttaceus

Quick Facts

Scientific nameArripis Truttaceus

Other namesWest Australian Salmon, Australian Salmon, Bay Trout, Black Back, Cocky Salmon, Colonial Salmon, Jack Salmon, Kahawais, Lumpy, Ocean Trout, Poundies, Salmon Trout, Southern Australian Salmon

SizeUp to 1 m (3.2 ft)

WeightUp to 9 kg (20 lb)

FamilyAustralian Salmon/Herring / Arripidae

Distribution

Habitat & AU DistributionCoastal waters, including sandy beaches, rocky shores, estuaries, & inlets, with a preference for areas of currents & upwelling

Depth Range1 - 20 m (65 ft)

The Western Australian Salmon is a powerful, streamlined fish that can grow to about 96 cm long and weigh up to 10.5 kg. Most are caught closer to 65 cm, but large individuals are impressive animals.
Despite the name, it is not a true salmon. It belongs to its own Australian family. The name stuck because early settlers thought it looked like a salmon-peel — the British term for a young Atlantic salmon.
Western Australian Salmon range along Australia’s southern coast, from the waters of Western Australia through South Australia and into Victoria. They are a fish of the cool, temperate south.
These fish are built for open water. Adults tend to gather in large schools along exposed coastlines, around rocky headlands, near reefs and in the surf zone.
Younger fish live differently. Juveniles settle in sheltered bays, estuaries and shallow coastal flats, often over seagrass beds and in mangrove creeks. They move to rougher water as they grow.
Western Australian Salmon are active predators. Adults feed mainly on small fish near the surface, and also take krill and other small animals drifting through the water.
They are thought to spawn in batches rather than all at once. Eggs are released in several rounds during the breeding season, not in a single event.
They reach about 9 years of age at most. For a fish that can grow to nearly a metre, that is a relatively short life.
Young Western Australian Salmon are easy to spot by their colour. Juveniles have golden bars along their upper sides, which break into large spots as they grow. Adults are dark blue-green above and silvery white below, with a bright yellow pectoral fin.
Western Australian Salmon are very similar to Eastern Australian Salmon, and the two can be hard to tell apart. The main difference is internal: Western Australian Salmon have 31 or fewer gill rakers on the first arch, while eastern fish have 33 or more.
Large schools of Western Australian Salmon are a familiar sight along the southern Australian coast, especially during migration. Watching a big school moving through the surf is one of the more striking things the southern coast has to offer.

Species Interaction

Western Australian Salmon: A Southern Coast Favourite for Anglers and Netters

Recreational Fishing
Commercial Harvest
Cultural Significance
Ecosystem Role

Western Australian Salmon are one of the southern coast’s most popular recreational target species, caught throughout the year with peak action in autumn along the South Coast and West Coast. Commercial beach-seine and haul-net operators also target the species in significant numbers, particularly in the South Coast Bioregion. Indigenous communities have long held cultural and totemic connections to Australian salmon, with traditional ecological knowledge still guiding some fishing practices today. As a schooling nearshore predator, the species also shapes the structure of coastal pelagic communities.

Species
Sustainability

Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Teleostei
Order: Scombriformes
Family: Arripidae
Genus: Arripis
Species: Arripis truttaceus

Conservation Status

The Western Australian Salmon has not been assessed by the IUCN Red List and holds no listing under Australia’s EPBC Act. It is a commercially and recreationally fished species along the southern and western coasts of Australia, from Victoria and Tasmania to Western Australia, where it is subject to ongoing state fisheries management.