Fish of Noosa & the Sunshine Coast
Fish of the Queensland Coast
Pearl Perch
Description
Pearl Perch is the thug of the Estuaries, one of the toughest competitors whos love for snag infested waters demands strong man handling tactics! Pearl Perch are a typical perch shape. They can range from almost pale pink to a dirty red brown. They have large eyes, strong jaws and powerful canine teeth. Each scale has a dark spot. They are often confused with the Red Bass, red bass have a much brighter red hue than the Pearl Perch and Red Bass have a deep pit before their eye which the Pearl Perch doesn't. They can grow as large as 12kgs on offshore reefs however commonly caught in the estuaries up to about 2kgs.
Habitat
In Australia Pearl Perch are essentially a tropic and sub tropic fish ranging from just inside Northern New South Wales, right through Queensland, Northern Territory into the Northern half of Western Australia. Pearl Perch can be found from the far up reaches of freshwater streams that feed into large estuary systems, down right through out the estuary system itself and out on to headlands and close reefs (where it is often confused with the Red Bass)
Also Known As
Creek Red Bream; Dog Bream; Red Bream; Reef Red Bream; Purple Sea Perch; Red Perch; Mangrove Red Snapper;