Dispatch Method:

The eating qualities of these fish can be greatly improved if they are killed immediately by iki jime, or a firm knock to the head before placing them in an ice slurry after bleeding.

Fish Description:

• Milkfish are blue-green dorsally with silver flanks, a white belly,a small toothless mouth and a large, deeply-forked tail fin. The eyes are covered with thick, gelatinous adipose eyelids.
  
• This species matures at around 65-80 cm long (5-8 years old) and feeds almost exclusively on plankton.

Fish Distribution:

• Milkfish occurs throughout the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region wherever water temperatures are greater than 20°C.
  
• Adults are found in marine waters (including coral reefs), but also shallow coastal embayments. Juveniles frequently enter mangrove estuaries and occasionally penetrate into freshwater streams.
  
• On the Great Barrier Reef, adult milkfish live inshore, but in summer they migrate offshore to spawn just outside the ribbon reefs in the Coral Sea.

Fish Size Common Length:

50-100 cm, maximum size around 180 cm and 15 kg.