Species Profile
Marlin
 Marlin
are Bermagui’s main drawcard and are found in large numbers.
They are renowned throughout the world for their speed, power and
endurance, as well as their grace and beauty.
Marlin are, without doubt, the ‘King of Fish’ and are the ultimate
prize for anglers.
It has been said that more marlin are
caught off Bermagui than in any other Australian port.
However, Bermagui doesn't have quite the same reputation for big marlin
as does Cairns, mainly because Bermagui is yet to see a 1000lbs plus (Grander!)
fish weighed in. Bermagui, however,
regularly sees large fish of 600 – 900lbs in weight.
There are three Indo-Pacific marlin, all
of which are prevalent off Bermagui from December through to May. These are the Striped, Blue and Black marlin.
All three marlin readily take an assortment of lures as well as live
baits. The favoured live baits used
off Bermagui are striped tuna, slimy mackerel and cowan young.
Striped Marlin
 Otherwise
known as the ‘Stripey’, this marlin is the dominant species caught off
Bermagui. Striped marlin are
acrobatic, aerial fighters and are beautifully coloured.
They are very similar in appearance to the Blue marlin, but their
distinguishing features are that they are more slender for their length, have a
higher dorsal fin and have concave pectoral fins.
Of the three marlin species, Striped
marlin are by far the best table fish making excellent eating with its pink
flesh that is easily fried, baked or barbecued. (However, very few are eaten as
the majority are tagged.) The average Striped marlin is around the 100kg
(220lbs) mark, with the larger ones being around 150kg (330lbs).
.
Pacific Blue Marlin
 The
Blue marlin is a large powerful fish swimming at speeds of up to 80kph (50mph).
When at speed, its pectoral fins fold neatly into grooves alongside its
body to reduce water drag. Blue
marlin have been reported to grow
in excess of 1000kgs (2200lbs!). The
heaviest Blue landed off Bermagui is 450kg; however, Trudee V tagged and
released an estimated Blue of over 900lbs.
Charterers lucky enough to catch a Blue marlin on the Eden Explorer or
Trudee V are strongly encouraged to tag and release the fish, unless it is a
tournament winner or likely to be an Australian and/or International record.
Black Marlin
Black Marlin are closely related to the
Blue marlin. The are very solid in
build and have a heavier and more ‘humped’ head with a shorter bill than the
other species. Furthermore, the
pectoral fins of the Black marlin don’t fold into the sides as they do on the
Striped or Blue marlin. Black marlin are found the world over, from around
400 North to around 400
South. The first ever to be caught on a rod and reel was captured off Port
Stephens - just north of Sydney. Most
of the Black marlin caught off the east coast of New South Wales are small being
around the 60-70kg mark. Black
marlin caught off Bermagui have an average size of 150kg!
Tuna
Tuna are an excellent table fish and are
keenly sought after at Bermagui. They
are also an outstanding gamefish offering power, speed and endurance.
Many gamefisherman agree that, pound for pound, tuna are more powerful
than marlin or sharks.
Tuna are found in all our open oceans
and many venture close to the Eastern seaboard along their migrations. Bermagui has all the major species of tuna including
Yellowfin, Bluefin, Albacore, Bigeye, Bonito, and Stripey tuna. The two main species sought by recreational and game anglers
at Bermagui are Yellowfin and Albacore tuna.
Yellowfin
 Yellowfin
tuna are sometimes called long-finned tuna as the more mature fish have
elongated dorsal and anal fins that grow longer with age.
They have silver sides and bright yellow fins, a bluish-black upper, and
a bright orange lateral line which fades soon after capture.
The Yellowfin tuna is an extremely
important fish for Bermagui. During
the winter months, anglers come from all around Australia to be a part of the
hot Yellowfin action. They are a
large-fish species that are easily accessible and captured by the small-boat
angler and sophisticated tackle is not generally required…. so long as it is
in good condition and robust. Yellowfin
of over 100kg are caught off Bermagui. They
readily take lures and live bait, but the most common tactic off Bermagui is
‘cubing’.
Cubing is the process of chopping up
small bait fish (slimy mackeral, pilchards etc) into small chunks and throwing a
chunk out at intervals of about five metres.
This creates a trail that the yellowfin follow all the way to the boat.
There is a lot more to cubing than this alone, O’Brien Boat Charters
will be only too happy to demonstrate the technique to their clients.
Albacore
Albacore are a highly regarded table
fish. Although not growing to the
size of yellowfin tuna, Albacore off Bermagui are quite common in the 20kg
range. They are an EXCELLENT table
fish often being described as the ‘chicken of the sea’.
The flesh is a clean white colour with firm texture.
Albacore can easily be distinguished from other members of the tuna
family by its unusually large pectoral fins which are, without doubt, the
longest of the tuna species. They are good fighters and a welcome catch to any angler.
Sharks
 As
with the entire coast of Australia, Bermagui has its share of sharks.
Mako sharks are particularly common off Bermagui along with Hammerheads,
Bronze Whalers and Tiger sharks. Pictured right is a magnificent Mako
doing its 'hydrobatics', and was pictured aboard Tru-Dee V.
'Species Profile' written by
Trevor Bettison
Canberra Game Fishing Club
Please forward any comments to:
trevor@ozewebs.com.au
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