Stout Whiting

The stout whiting, Sillago robusta (also known as the yellow-cheek whiting and school whiting), is a species of benthic marine fish in the smelt-whiting family Sillaginidae. Like other sillaginids, it is an elongate, slightly compressed fish, growing to a maximum known length of 30 cm. The stout whiting is endemic to Australia, with the species divided into western and eastern populations, with the western population ranging from Shark Bay to Fremantle and the eastern population from Bustard Head, Queensland to northern New South Wales. The species inhabits deep, sandy continental shelf regions to a depth of at least 70 m. The stout whiting is a benthic carnivore, consuming a variety of polychaetes and crustaceans. The species grows rapidly, and sexual maturity is reached at a length of 13 cm, with spawning occurring between December and March. Juveniles of the eastern population move to protected inshore waters, while those of the western population remain offshore their entire life. Stout whiting are the subject of a major export fishery operating out of southern Queensland and to a lesser extent New South Wales, with fishery authorities limiting the yearly catch to 1000 tonnes in Queensland. Most of the catch is exported frozen to a number of Asian countries, although small quantities are sold in Australia, with the net worth of the fishery values at around 3 million Australian dollars per year.