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(Click for large pic. 37Kb)
The Sweetlip is by far the most common Emperor on the Queensland coast. Occasionally examples are taken in the vicinity of Noosa Heads, Caloundra and Cape Moreton (South Queensland). It is a beautifully marked fish; the body is olive brown above and silvery below, with a series of dark vertical bands that fade shortly after death.
Night‑caught fish are uniformly dull silvery, these dark vertical bands developing immediately after capture And disappearing after death, The head may range from pink to blood red in colour; the inside of the mouth and throat is a bright orange-red. a feature that assists in identifying it. The dorsal fin is blight scarlet: the caudal fin ranges from deep pink to red.
Although generally taken at a weight of from 900 g to 2.3 kg (2 to 5 lb.), the Sweetlip reaches a length of 900 mm (36 inches) and a weight of 9 kg (20 lb.). It is possible to chum (or burley) shoals of these fish up off a coral bottom to within 6 m (20 feet) of the surface, when they can be hand lined as rapidly as a fisherman's capacity will permit.
They are avid biters and hard fighters, feeding on such prey as small fish, crustacea. squids, and molluscs such as Mutton fish (Haliotis spp.) and even new hatched Turtles. This is one of our best table fishes
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