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(Click for large pic. 52Kb)
Like the Chinaman-fish, this species has been known to cause food-poisoning of the type termed ciguatera. Some fishermen claim that gutting the fish immediately on capture renders them safe to eat, but from the general view-point of safety it is perhaps best to take the stand that THIS FISH IS POISONOUS.
It is a handsome fish found on the reefs and shoals of North Queensland, occasional specimens being taken from headlands as far south as Double Island Point and Cape Moreton (S. Qld.). It is particularly plentiful on the Outer Barrier reefs where it is taken by deep-trolling, using lures (or "wogs") designed and intended for Coral Trout. The body is very dark-red along the back and the top of the head, right to the tip of the snout; it is rose-pink on the sides, and fainter silvery-pink on the belly.
Below the lateral line and parallel to it a series of faint pink bands run back to the tail. The gill-covers, cheeks and throat are yellow; the head is splashed with dark-lavender. The spinous dorsal fin is dark-scarlet, black at its base and edge. This fish is instantly recognisable from a related and similar Sea-perch, the Mangrove Jack in that the Red Bass has a conspicuous pit on the head immediately in front of each eye, this pit is absent in the Mangrove Jack. The Red Bass grows to a length of 900 mm (36 inches) and a weight of 12.3 kg.
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