AIMS Research - Inshore Herrings and Sardines, Contents

Inshore herrings and sardines

Reprinted with permission from Sportfish Australia, volume 1 number 4, 1995

Mike Cappo
Australian Institute of Marine Science

Barramundi will feed at the surface on schools of Sardine juveniles in the tropics.

Action around inshore baitfish schools is a phenomenal feature of tropical sportfishing in Australia, and provides the basis for the old adage "find the bait and you’ll find the fish" -- but what species comprise the schools, where do they come from, and why is their abundance sometimes erratic?

These questions formed the basis of a major AIMS research project, and in this article I want to describe the species of herrings and sardines we found inshore during our research on the identity and source of the baitfish schools out at the famous Cape Bowling Green Billfish Grounds.

Contents

Confusion in identification
Sampling in all major habitat types
Earstones tell of short lives for baitfish
Baitfish of many species
The sardines
Herrings
Big variation in abundance
Catching and keeping sardines and herrings
Table 1. baitfish distribution
Table 2. characteristics of baitfish in the Townsville region

For more information contact
Mike Cappo
Australian Institute of Marine Science
PMB 3, Townsville MC
Queensland 4810, Australia.