
Also known as:
Blue salmon
Fourfinger threadfin
Bluenose salmon
Colonial salmon
Cooktown salmon
Tassel-fish
Threadfin
Giant threadfin
Common Group Name:
Threadfins
Family Name:
Polynemidae
Genus Name:
Eleutheronema
Species Name:
Eleutheronema tetradactylum
Dispatch Method:
The eating qualities of blue threadfin can be greatly improved if they are killed humanely by iki jime or a firm knock to the head before placing them in an ice slurry after bleeding.
Fish Description:
- Bluish colour above, with blue fins and prominent fatty eyelid over eyes.
- Threadfin are so named for the sensory filaments at the base of each pectoral fin. The sensory filaments are used to locate food items in muddy water.
- Blue threadfin have 3 or 4 shorter filaments per fin, while king threadfin have 5 longer ones.
- These fish are protandrous hermaphrodites that mature first as males at 20-25 cm long (1 year old) before changing sex into females at around 40 cm long (around 3 years old).
Fish Distribution:
- This species is found mainly over shallow muddy bottoms in tropical estuaries and coastal waters throughout the Indo-West Pacific region.
- In Australia they are found in muddy inshore areas along the entire tropical and subtropical northern coastline, with discrete resident populations occurring in major river systems.
Fish Size Common Length:
30-50 cm, maximum size in Australia around 100 cm, reportedly 200 cm and 135 kg elsewhere.