Japanese Threadfin Bream sighting at Fairy Bower

A juvenile Japanese Threadfin Bream, Pentapodus nagasakiensis, was recently photographed at Fairy Bower, Cabbage Tree Bay, Sydney. The sighting was made by John Sear on March 28, 2023.

This observation was made more than 1300km south of the recognised southern limit to the distribution of the species, which is Swain Reefs, Queensland (21°16'S). View the Australian Faunal Directory factsheet.

John stated, "This fish was at 9m depth. Being familiar with a couple of Pentapodus species that we find in the Aquatic reserve, I knew this one was a different species and one I haven't encountered before. A quick search through some reference books found it but I was quite surprised to see so few observations on iNat, and the range extension."

Thank you John for uploading this important observation. Thanks also to Threadfin Bream expert Dr Barry Russell (@ichthysau) for confirming the identification of the fish.