Western Australian salmon
Fish · Last reviewed 2026-10-25
A big schooling sportfish of southern Australia's surf beaches, one of two fish sold under the name Australian salmon, which travels the whole south coast to spawn off the south-west.
The Western Australian salmon is one of two closely related fish that share the name Australian salmon. It is not a salmon; it belongs to the Arripidae, a family found only in the southern hemisphere.
TWO FISH, ONE NAME. The other is the eastern Australian salmon, Arripis trutta, which FishingHQ holds as kahawai. Fishes of Australia says the two are very hard to tell apart: the dependable difference is the number of gill rakers on the first arch, about thirty-one or fewer in the western fish against thirty-three or more in the eastern. Where both occur, in Victoria and Tasmania, a guide that says only "Australian salmon" has not said which.
A FISH OF THE WHOLE SOUTH COAST. It ranges from southern New South Wales to Geraldton and eastern Tasmania. Adults gather off the south-west corner of Western Australia from late winter and spawn between Cape Leeuwin and Busselton; the larvae drift east on the Leeuwin Current, spend three or four years in nurseries in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania, and work back west as they grow.
WHY ANGLERS WANT IT. Schools along surf beaches and reefs, and a fight Fishes of Australia calls renowned. The flesh is not highly valued. Its limits are in the state's guide and are not restated here.
The fish
Identification
No photograph of Western Australian salmon 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
- Arripis truttaceus
- Family
- Arripidae
- Water
- Saltwater, Brackish
- Conservation status
- Not assessed
- Regions
- Australia
- Dark bluish-green to olive-green above, silvery white below, with bright yellow pectoral fins.
- A blackish margin on the tail and on the spiny part of the dorsal fin; the tail is deeply forked.
- Juveniles have vertical golden bars on the upper sides, breaking into spots in slightly larger fish.
- Told from the eastern Australian salmon only reliably by gill rakers: about 31 or fewer on the first arch, against 33 or more.
- Told from the Australian herring by size and the tail: the herring is much smaller and has prominent black tips to the tail lobes.
Size
- Typical
- FishBase gives a common length of 65 cm fork length
Exceptional: FishBase records a maximum of 96 cm standard length and a maximum published weight of 10.5 kg
Lifecycle and reproduction
Fishes of Australia describes a life spent travelling the south coast: larvae carried east from the south-west of Western Australia, three to four years in nursery bays in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania, then a move to more exposed coast and a migration back west to the Hopetoun and Esperance coasts. FishBase records a maximum age of nine years and medium resilience.
Adults congregate around the south-western corner of Western Australia from late winter to January and spawn in the Cape Leeuwin to Busselton region from late autumn to early winter, when the eastward Leeuwin Current is strongest and carries eggs and larvae south-east, by Fishes of Australia's account.
Feeding and senses
Fishes of Australia records adults as carnivores. FishBase describes schools in shallow open coastal water that move over reef in depths just enough to cover them, and juveniles over soft ground and seagrass. The sources read do not list prey.
The sources read do not describe how it finds food. They describe a schooling fish of surf beaches and reef edges, which is the water anglers fish for it.
Through the year
In Western Australia the spawning gathering builds off the south-west from late winter, by Fishes of Australia's account; elsewhere schools move with the fish's westward migration as it grows.
Distribution
Endemic to southern Australia from off Greenwell Point, southern New South Wales, to Geraldton, Western Australia, and eastern Tasmania. Adults school along surf beaches and rocky reefs on the continental shelf; juveniles live in shallow bays and estuaries, often over 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 surf and reef sportfish renowned for its fight on rod and reel, taken from beaches and rocks where schools come within casting range. Commercially it is caught mainly for canning, because its flesh is considered strongly flavoured, oily and soft.
Handling and returning
The sources read give no handling advice specific to this fish. The state department's 2026 guide asks that unwanted or protected fish be released as carefully and as quickly as possible, and warns against high-grading: a fish not returned at once counts towards the day's bag.
Safety and rulesBack to the questions
Where to go next
Where it lives
Told apart from
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
- Western Australian Salmon, Arripis truttaceus — Fishes of Australia (Museums Victoria) (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Identity, colour and juvenile bars, the shared name, range, habitat, the spawning gathering and migration, the gill raker difference from the eastern Australian salmon, its fight and its flesh.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 Arripis truttaceus. Also common length, maximum age, resilience and the schools over shallow reef.States this directlyPassage read and verified
- Australian Herring, Arripis georgiana — Fishes of Australia (Museums Victoria) (Scientific institute)Relied on for: How the Australian herring is told from the western Australian salmon.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 general advice on releasing unwanted fish and on high-grading.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Why the 3 connections on this page are here, and the sources
Where it lives
Backed by research — 1 connection
Supported by peer-reviewed research or fisheries science. The sources are listed and can be checked.
Surf beaches
The museum's species account states the habitat.
- Western Australian Salmon, Arripis truttaceus — Fishes of Australia (Museums Victoria) (Scientific institute)Relied on for: That adults form large schools along surf beaches and rocky reefs.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Told apart from
Backed by research — 2 connections
Supported by peer-reviewed research or fisheries science. The sources are listed and can be checked.
Australian herring
The museum's species account states the comparison.
- Australian Herring, Arripis georgiana — Fishes of Australia (Museums Victoria) (Scientific institute)Relied on for: The black tail tips, larger eye, rounder head and much smaller maximum size that separate the herring from the western Australian salmon.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Kahawai
The museum's species account states the comparison.
- Western Australian Salmon, Arripis truttaceus — relied on for: That the western and eastern Australian salmon are very hard to tell apart and differ in gill raker count.
How FishingHQ labels evidence is explained in the evidence policy.