Dispatch Method:

The eating qualities of king 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 silver-grey to golden colour, with white belly and a strongly forked tail.
  
• 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.
  
• King threadfin have 5 longer filaments per fin, while blue threadfin only have 3-4. King threadfin also develop prominent bone growths called hyperostosis. These may increase fish density which may counteract excessive buoyancy under certain circumstances.
  
• 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 80-110 cm long (around 4-7 years old).

Fish Distribution:

• This species is found mainly over shallow muddy bottoms in tropical estuaries and coastal waters of New Guinea and northern Australia.
  
• 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 as far south as the Brisbane River (QLD) and Broome (WA).

Fish Size Common Length:

45-100 cm, maximum size around 170 cm and 40 kg.