Dispatch Method:

Beware of the sharp gill covers of flathead when handling them. To maximise their eating qualities they should be killed humanely by iki jime or a firm knock to the head before placing them in an ice slurry after bleeding.

Fish Description:

• Colouration sandy brown to grey dorsally with fine marbling. Whitish ventrally.
  
• Tail fin with horizontal black bars and a prominent yellow blotch near middle of fin.
  
• There are around 43 species of flatheads in Australian waters. They are all bottom dwellers which use their oversized pectoral and pelvic fins to completely bury themselves in soft substrates.

Fish Distribution:

• Bar tailed flathead can be found in estuaries and inshore waters throughout the Indo-west Pacific region, as well as the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
  
• In Australia their distribution is along the northern parts of the country from Shark Bay (Western Australia) to Port Hacking (NSW).
  
• They live on soft bottoms in estuaries (sometimes up to freshwater), bays and coastal waters to depths of 40 meters.

Fish Size Common Length:

40-60 cm, maximum size around 100 cm and 4 kg.