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South Australian King George Whiting

January 31st, 2009
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by Dr Corey Fisher

The King George Whiting, first officially named Sillago punctata in 1929 by Cuvier and finally designated a name lectotype in 1985 by McKay. The fish has a number of frequently used names including spotted whiting in reference to its positioned bars of brown spots but the most commonly used name “King George Whiting”.

The King George whiting is the largest in its group and is quite easy to destinguish. It has an elongated, slightly compressed body with a tapered head and a terminal mouth to assist with bottom feeding.

Native to Southern Australia, ranging from lower Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and sometimes even as far north as southern New South Wales. King George whiting are most commonly found in tidal bays, estaries and creeks along the southern coast of the mainland and numerous islands in this area.

The fish themselves freeze very well, and the fish are very easy to scale and fillet. King George Whiting can be caught all year round, winter usually seeing the largest congregation of them in the gulf waters, while early summer can land you a catch off lower Yorke peninsula.

Whitings are prized for their sweet, delicate flavour. They are versatile fishes that can be prepared in a number of ways including steaming, baking, barbecuing and grilling, with frying the most common. Careful handling is required because of their soft and delicate texture.

Australian Fish Resources notes that king george numbers declined dramatically in Westernport, Victoria, after a 70 per cent dieback of seagrass.

Complementary flavourings for whiting are the herbs dill, basil, chives, parsley and tarragon. When whiting is grilled or barbecued, a salad of grapefruit, orange, lime and lemon, with a citrus and olive oil dressing, will complement the flavour wonderfully. Other suitable sauces and condiments are lemon and herbed butters or buerre blanc. Crusts of cumin, coriander and ground turmeric are also tasty.

bait: Bass Yabbies (nippers), Beach worm, Crab, Mussel, Octopus, Pilchard, Pippi, Prawn, Sand worm, Squid, Squirt worm Other: Juvenile whiting, those less than say four to the kilogram, feed on worms, shrimp, small crabs and other crustaceans. However, preferred baits include mussel, cockle and the flesh of other bivalve molluscs which they take readily. Other effective baits less commonly used for whiting include craytail, yabby, and peeled prawn, Adolescent and adult whiting are more adventurous in regard to food preferences and will certainly feed on small fish, tiny octopus and squid. This gives anglers the opportunity to fish more selectively for the larger fish with strips of squid and the fillets taken from bait fish like pilchards.

About the Author:
South Australian Fishing Charters. A website thats here to bring you the best recreational and sports fishing tours in South Australia.

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