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Bream / Tarwhine


DaveD

Question

I always try to get bream but I'm not sure if its a Tarwhine or not. I really cant see too much of a difference.

I've got a lot of these small fish lately with light green coloured spots I think shaped like a bream and Tarwhine, what are they?

Just wondering if people have some good descriptions on what to see as the differences between them.

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Hi Dave,

Tarwhine and bream are often confused. As you can see int he pictures below, the most obvious differences between the Yellowfin Bream (Acanthopagrus australis) and the Tarwhine (Rhabdosargus sarba) are colouration, head shape and anal fins. The head of a Tarwhine is much more rounded than a bream's. Tarwhine are also generally more yellow in colour with faint yellow stripes running horizontally down the body. Furthermore, there is a visible difference in the anal and caudal fins of both fish - this can be seen below. Tarwhine also feature a more prominent eye and a rounder body shape in general.

NSW Fisheries Yellowfin Bream:

bream.jpg

NSW Fisheries Tarwhine:

tarwhine.jpg

eFishAlbum Yellowfin Bream:

0712-silver-bream.jpg

eFish Album Tarwhine:

0665-rhabdosargus-sarba.jpg

Hope this helps,

Flattieman.

Edited by Flattieman
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Guest IFishSick.

Yeah that sounds like a Snapper with the spots on them. The smaller ones are a bit less red so maybe they look more like a Bream or Tarwhine.

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Excellant Reply Flatieman ive been dumb founded my self Cheers Dave

:biggrin2: I was the first person in my family to really notice - it's not hard to get confused! Now everyone can spot the difference pretty well - you just need to put your baits down in a swarm of the darn things and soon you'll be bored of catching tarwhine! The difference is pretty obvious once you've got two fresh specimens to compare.

Flattieman.

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Dave's right :biggrin2: also the jaw is shorter & differently shaped to a breams, obvious when looked at head-on, not so obvious in profile photos, plus the goldish horizontal ribbons on it's flanks. Really good tucker if iced asap & a fish with a strong schooling instinct. Where there's one - a killer Fishraider report should follow !

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Alright, Thanks for the help guys, helps me distinguish em a bit more easily. :)

I think my best bets are to have someone physically show me two comparisons that they catch.

There's another quick question, these small pinky snapper as you put it, theyre still the same shape and appear similar to these dont they ? OR they did to me...

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Thanks mate

got them down in wollongong harbour, measured about 50cm

Very nice Tarwhine mate. That helped A LOT !!! Thanks man. That's exactly what I was looking for. :)

EDIT: Noticed another small thing, the bottom of the bream is flat and the tarwhine is more rounded all over :)

Edited by AmateurDave
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hey dave have the fish ur catchin got a pinkish tinge to them i keep catchin tonnes of em squire or young snapper. theres a lot of em in port hacking!

they were a little, but more so they had those greeny coloured dots around them. Nice lookin fish, small ones though.

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