Photograph by Willem van Aken
Barramundi
Characteristics
Compared to humans, some Barramundi can grow as big as a fully grown man, but mostly they are around the size of small children 50cm – 1.25m. They can vary from grey to bright shiny silver with gold fins and that is when they are in the best health. The juvenile ones sometimes have purple or red fins. They have no patterns apart from their scales which are diagonal and quite large. Also when they get to about 60cm they go from male to female.
Diet
The Barramundi is a pelagic fish that is native to the north of Australia. It is a consumer because it eats smaller fish. It is both a predator and prey because it eats smaller fish but there are still crocodiles and humans that eat it. It Is still towards the top of the food chain. Its prey is small to medium size bait fish. The Barramundi is predominantly a carnivore in the wild, but if need be it can be an omnivore. It can compete with small crocodiles and other pelagic fish.
Predators
The predators are humans and crocodiles.
Distribution and Abundance
The Barramundi is found in the north of Australia and the Indo Pacific region in Asia. It is found in The Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland regions in Australia. In the Northern Territory, it is found in nearly all waterways including creeks, rivers and the ocean. The Barramundi inhabits warmer water towards the equator in northern Australia and Asia.
In Australia the Northern Territory has the most Barramundi. Studies have shown that the Mary and Daly River systems have the most Barramundi. This has increased because anglers have adopted a system where big breeding females and juveniles should be caught and then released.
Habitat
Juveniles stay in the estuary or grassy floodplains.
Management
The population of Barramundi in the Northern Territory specifically has risen because of fishing techniques, such as catch and release. There has also been a reduction in how many commercial fishing licences there are - from over 150 to just 20 now.