Distribution and Habitat
The sand whiting inhabits a range along the east coast of Australia from Cape York, Queensland, southward along the coast and the Great Barrier Reef to eastern Victoria and the east coast of Tasmania down to Southport. The species also inhabits a number of islands; Lord Howe Island, New Caledonia, and Woodlark Island, Papua New Guinea. The species is most abundant in lower Queensland and New South Wales, where studies show it inhabits every estuary sampled throughout the course of a study, while in north Queensland, the species is very patchily distributed along the coast.
The sand whiting is an inshore species, inhabiting exposed coastal areas such as beaches, sandbars and surf zones as well as quieter bays, estuaries and coastal lakes. Sand whiting enter estuaries, including intermittently open ones, and penetrate far upstream to the tidal limits of rivers and creeks where juveniles and adolescent fish may be abundant. The adults congregate around the mouths of estuaries, bars, and spits, in depths down to 5 m where they may constitute a large percentage of the icthyofauna of such regions. As implied by their name, they are often found exclusively over sandy substrates, with occasional appearances in Zostera seagrass beds. Individuals are occasionally taken in offshore waters to 40 m during winter.
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