Bright future for King George whiting
by Victorian Fisheries Authority 20 Jan 06:33 UTC
Fishing for King George whiting in Port Phillip and beyond has a bright future with the news that juvenile numbers of the species are the best they have been since 2021.
Victorian Fisheries Authority, Senior Manager Recreational Fisheries, Taylor Hunt said field surveys undertaken by fisheries scientists late last year around Port Phillip recorded better numbers of the popular fish than in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
"These survey results are great news for recreational fishers given the immense popularity of King George whiting as a delicious table fish that can be caught from boats and the shore, and with relatively simple fishing gear," Mr Hunt said.
The quality of fishing overall in Port Phillip has been outstanding since we removed all commercial net fishing in the bay in 2022, leaving more fish like whiting, flathead, calamari and snapper for recreational anglers.
The annual surveys of baby whiting in shallow seagrass habitats have been undertaken at several sites around the bay for more than 25 years and have proved to be a reliable predictor of future catches.
These most recent positive survey results in Port Phillip are indicative of juvenile whiting numbers in other Victorian waters such as Western Port and Corner Inlet.
Once King George whiting begin maturing, they leave our bays and enter coastal waters where they spawn in winter, most likely off far western Victoria and eastern South Australia.
Mr Hunt said the whiting larvae then drift eastward for around three months before entering Port Phillip and other bays and estuaries in spring, when our scientists conduct the surveys in seagrass beds, which are favored habitat of these small fish.
Westerly winds help drive the currents that bring the King George whiting larvae into our bays, where they take about two years to reach the legal minimum size of 27cm.
King George whiting only stay in our bays for a few years of their life so these fisheries naturally fluctuate depending on the number of larvae that entered several years prior.
At about four years of age, most whiting have left our bays to complete their life in coastal waters.