Southern Black Bream - Distribution and Habitat

Distribution and Habitat

The southern black bream is endemic to southern Australia, inhabiting coastal waters from Shark Bay, Western Australia in the west to Mallacoota, Victoria in the east and south around the entire Tasmanian coastline. The species is primarily an inshore species, although has been found on rare occasions on deeper reefs on the continental shelf. Southern black bream primarily inhabit estuarine environments, penetrating into the far reaches of freshwater creeks and rivers during the summer spawning season. They are also known from a number of coastal lakes and intermittently open estuaries. In estuarine and freshwater environments they seek out the cover of structures such as fallen tree branches, jetties, oyster leases and rocky areas, while in deeper areas of coastal lakes, they are often found over bare mud and sand substrates. The species is rarely found in the ocean, but are often washed out of creeks during times of high river flow and are able to survive in the marine environment, where they inhabit inshore reefs and rocky shorelines.

The species is most common in southern Victoria, where it inhabits numerous estuaries. The Gippsland Lakes, Mallacoota Inlet and Lake Tyers are the most densely populated bodies of water in the state and the species is often found along the coast. It is not as prolific in South Australia, with the Coorong and Kangaroo Island being the main bream-producing areas in the state. The low numbers may be correlated with the state's lack of rivers and estuaries, although bream have been caught in unexpected areas, including the Gulfs, as well as deep rocky reefs off Streaky Bay in lobster traps. Southern black bream are prevalent in southern Western Australia, with large numbers of estuaries holding the species. The Culham and Stokes Inlets are known to have large populations of the fish.