NEWCASTLE angler Ben Hall has captured a trophy-size Japanese sea bass (Lateolabrax japonicus) in the Hunter River according to a post on the Hunter River Fishing Facebook page.
Ben was targeting mulloway on fly when he hooked the mysterious fish and said in a Facebook post that he tried to release it, “I tagged the fish planning to release but unfortunately it didnt recover well.”
Fisho reached out to Dr. Ben Diggles who confirmed the fish as a Japanese sea bass and said “…its not supposed to be here, but was probably introduced in ballast water or something like that,”
Diggles said the Fishes of Australia has the Japanese sea bass listed in its database and said its “apparently been here since 1984, so either they are getting repeatedly introduced, or they have established a breeding population….”
Have you ever caught or seen a Japanese sea bass in Australia?
