[I:0:G]The King George whiting was first named in 1829 as Sillago punctata, based on an indervidual caught from King George Sound in Western Australia. A number of synonyms have since been added to the initial naming due to the fish not being designated a holotype. The fish has a variety of commonly used names but the most common, "King George Whiting", taken from the name of the body of water where the first officially named fish was caught.
With an elongated, slightly compressed body, tapering head and a bottom feeding style mouth. The King George Whiting is recognised by a first dorsal fin with 12 or 13 sipnes and a second dorsal fin with one single spine. Within its species, it is best distinguished by the shape of its swim bladder.
Native to Southern Australia, ranging from lower Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and sometimes even as far north as southern New South Wales. King George whiting are most commonly found in tidal bays, estaries and creeks along the southern coast of the mainland and numerous islands in this area.
In southern estuaries they tend to be around the size of the legal limit, but farther north, around Perth, the range is likely to be from 700g up to 1.5 kilos.
King george spawn in offshore waters from late summer to winter. The eggs are buoyant and the larvae move inshore, with the aid of prevailing breezes and currents, where they remain for two to three years. At this age they are around 28cm, but they do not mature until they are three to four years old.
There are a number of locations around the coastline where whiting may be caught from beaches. The beaches facing the ocean frequently produce fish weighing in at better than two to the kilogram. When fishing for whiting from the beach, baits do need to be secure. While firm baits like squid may survive a powerful cast, softer baits like craytail, pipi, and the flesh of other bivalve molluscs may fly off the hook. For this reason it is wise to use hosiery elastic, sold in leading fishing tackle outlets as Bait Mate, to bind the bait to the hook so it does not fly off.
Complementary flavourings for whiting are the herbs dill, basil, chives, parsley and tarragon. When whiting is grilled or barbecued, a salad of grapefruit, orange, lime and lemon, with a citrus and olive oil dressing, will complement the flavour wonderfully. Other suitable sauces and condiments are lemon and herbed butters or buerre blanc. Crusts of cumin, coriander and ground turmeric are also tasty.
EATING: A superb table fish, the King George whiting is easily filleted to avoid small bones. Possibly Australias best tasting fish.
With an elongated, slightly compressed body, tapering head and a bottom feeding style mouth. The King George Whiting is recognised by a first dorsal fin with 12 or 13 sipnes and a second dorsal fin with one single spine. Within its species, it is best distinguished by the shape of its swim bladder.
Native to Southern Australia, ranging from lower Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and sometimes even as far north as southern New South Wales. King George whiting are most commonly found in tidal bays, estaries and creeks along the southern coast of the mainland and numerous islands in this area.
In southern estuaries they tend to be around the size of the legal limit, but farther north, around Perth, the range is likely to be from 700g up to 1.5 kilos.
King george spawn in offshore waters from late summer to winter. The eggs are buoyant and the larvae move inshore, with the aid of prevailing breezes and currents, where they remain for two to three years. At this age they are around 28cm, but they do not mature until they are three to four years old.
There are a number of locations around the coastline where whiting may be caught from beaches. The beaches facing the ocean frequently produce fish weighing in at better than two to the kilogram. When fishing for whiting from the beach, baits do need to be secure. While firm baits like squid may survive a powerful cast, softer baits like craytail, pipi, and the flesh of other bivalve molluscs may fly off the hook. For this reason it is wise to use hosiery elastic, sold in leading fishing tackle outlets as Bait Mate, to bind the bait to the hook so it does not fly off.
Complementary flavourings for whiting are the herbs dill, basil, chives, parsley and tarragon. When whiting is grilled or barbecued, a salad of grapefruit, orange, lime and lemon, with a citrus and olive oil dressing, will complement the flavour wonderfully. Other suitable sauces and condiments are lemon and herbed butters or buerre blanc. Crusts of cumin, coriander and ground turmeric are also tasty.
EATING: A superb table fish, the King George whiting is easily filleted to avoid small bones. Possibly Australias best tasting fish.
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