West Australian dhufish
Fish · Last reviewed 2026-10-25
A large, slow-growing reef fish found only off Western Australia, prized above all others in the state's demersal fishery — and the fish its 2026 closure was written to protect.
The West Australian dhufish lives only off Western Australia, from Esperance round to Shark Bay, on rocky outcrops and ledges usually in twenty to fifty metres, with adults also in shallower water and juveniles over sand and seagrass. Fishes of Australia calls it the jewel in the crown of the state's demersal scalefish fishery.
IT LIVES A LONG TIME. It can live more than forty years and grow past a metre and twenty-five kilograms; FishBase records a maximum of 122 cm and 26 kg, and rates its resilience very low, with a population doubling time of more than fourteen years. That is the reason for the rules.
THE RULES CHANGED IN 2026. The state department's 2026 guide said boat fishing for demersal scalefish was closed in the West Coast bioregion, Kalbarri to Augusta, until spring 2027, after research showed fishing pressure on dhufish and pink snapper was too high for the stocks to recover. Fishing for them from the shore was not closed, but the guide says dhufish may not be speared, even from land. Its bag and size rules are in the guide and are not restated here.
IT IS NOT A JEWFISH. Its old names — jewfish, Westralian jewfish — are shared with mulloway and others in eastern Australia, so the name alone is not a reliable guide to which fish is meant.
The fish
Identification
No photograph of West Australian dhufish is published yet, so none is shown. A photograph is published only once the animal in it has been checked against the diagnostic features described on this page, and its rights to be used here have been checked at its source.
- Scientific name
- Glaucosoma hebraicum
- Family
- Glaucosomatidae
- Water
- Saltwater
- Conservation status
- Not assessed
- Regions
- Australia
- A large, deep-bodied reef fish with a curved dark band through the eye, less distinct in females; FishBase notes it may fade as the fish grows.
- Adult males grow a long filament from the dorsal fin.
- Juveniles have broad dark stripes along the sides, much wider than the pale spaces between them.
- FishBase gives eight dorsal spines and eleven soft rays, three anal spines and nine soft rays.
Size
- Typical
- FishBase gives a common length of 80 cm total length
- Large
- Over a metre and 25 kg, by Fishes of Australia
Exceptional: FishBase records a maximum of 122 cm and a maximum published weight of 26 kg
Lifecycle and reproduction
Long-lived and slow to replace itself: Fishes of Australia says it may live more than forty years, and FishBase records a maximum age of 41 and rates its resilience very low, with a minimum population doubling time of more than fourteen years. Juveniles shelter over sand with seagrass or near sponge and weed reef; adults live on rocky outcrops and ledges.
The sources read give no spawning season or place. FishBase records a fecundity of about three hundred thousand eggs and maturity at three to four years in its resilience estimate; how and where the fish spawn is not described in what was read.
Feeding and senses
Fishes of Australia says juveniles feed mostly on small crustaceans — isopods, amphipods and mysids — and some small fish. The sources read do not describe the adult diet in detail.
The sources read do not describe how dhufish find food. What they establish is a fish of hard ground and ledges, holding close to structure, which is why it is fished for on the bottom over reef.
Through the year
FishBase says adults move into shallower water in the cooler months between April and June. The state's closures, not the season, now decide when it may be fished from a boat on the West Coast.
Distribution
Endemic to the western and south-western coasts of Western Australia from Esperance to Shark Bay, rare further north, on rocky outcrops and ledges usually at 20–50 m and recorded to over 200 m; adults also in shallower water, juveniles over sand and seagrass.
This is a biological range — where the species occurs, not a prediction that you will catch one. To browse the fishing geography FishingHQ holds, start at fishing places.
Why anglers care
A very popular and highly sought recreational fish, and the central species of the West Coast Demersal Scalefish Fishery. It is fished on the bottom over reef, which is the method the 2026 West Coast closure stopped from boats. Because it is slow-growing and long-lived, the state's limits on it are tighter than on most fish.
Handling and returning
The state department's 2026 guide says a release weight — a weighted barbless hook clipped to the fish's upper lip and freed by a tug once the fish is back on the seabed — must be aboard when boat fishing for demersal species anywhere in Western Australia. It describes barotrauma, the injury a fish brought up quickly from depth suffers as gases expand, and warns that a fish may seem to swim off well and die later; it asks anglers not to target demersal fish for catch and release, and to keep legal fish within the limits outside closures.
Safety and rulesBack to the questions
Where to go next
Understanding this fish
More fish
Not related to this page — just the rest of the section. There is little else joined to this subject yet, and a short page should still lead somewhere.
Sources and evidence
- West Australian Dhufish, Glaucosoma hebraicum — Fishes of Australia (Museums Victoria) (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Identity, the eye band and male filament, juvenile stripes, other names, range, habitat and depth, longevity, size, juvenile diet and its standing in the fishery.States this directlyPassage read and verified
- FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Maximum size, habitat, distribution and the IUCN position (Not Evaluated) for Glaucosoma hebraicum. Also the fin counts, the fading eye band, common length, maximum age, resilience and fecundity, and the move to shallower water between April and June.States this directlyPassage read and verified
- Recreational fishing guide 2026 — Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: The West Coast bioregion closure of boat fishing for demersal scalefish until spring 2027, its reason, the ban on spearing dhufish, the release weight requirement, the barotrauma description and the advice against catch and release of demersal fish.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Why the 1 connections on this page are here, and the sources
Understanding this fish
Official guidance — 1 connection
Stated by a fisheries authority, scientific institute or recognised angling body. Authoritative, but summarising rather than demonstrating.
Swim bladders, buoyancy and barotrauma
The state department's statewide guide.
- Recreational fishing guide 2026 — Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: The barotrauma description, the release weight requirement for boat fishing for demersal species and the advice not to target demersal fish for catch and release.States this directlyPassage read and verified
How FishingHQ labels evidence is explained in the evidence policy.