Common Name: Yellowtail Kingfish

Distribution: Abundant in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Circumglobal in subtropical waters with a series of disjunct populations. Indo-Pacific region: from South Africa to Hawaii, Pitcairn and Easter Island. In Australia recorded from southern Queensland south through New South Wales around to about Perth in Western Australia and including Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands and Tasmania.

Ecological Notes: Adults are benthopelagic in coastal and oceanic waters, near rocky shores, reefs and islands. Occasionally entering estuaries and harbours. Depth 3 – 825 m.

Additional Notes: Slender body, silver in colour with dark stripe through eye and continuing along length of body. Tail usually yellow, sometimes dusky. Sought after food fish, schools may number in the hundreds or thousands. Feeds on small fish, squid and crustaceans. Grows to about 2 m and 50 kg.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.145.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=seriola+lalandi. Accessed 24/06/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Seriola-lalandi.html. Accessed 24/06/18.