|
Australian native fish, Murray cod, sports fishing, freshwater
fishing in Australia, billabong fish of Australia, native fish of Australia,
table fish of Australia, angler clubs, fish stock for dams
Murray Cod
Maccullochella peelii (Mitchell, 1838)
A Murray Cod photographed at
Sydney Aquarium. Image: M. McGrouther ©
Australian Museum. View
larger image.
Above and below: A 53 cm long Murray Cod caught by New South Wales Department of
Primary Industries, using a boat electrofisher, in March 2005. The fish was
caught downstream of Yarrawonga Weir, Murray River, New South Wales. It was
released after being measured. Photo: J. Pogonoski © NSW Department of Primary
Industries. View
larger image.
Photo: J. Pogonoski © NSW Department of Primary Industries. View
larger image.
The Murray Cod is a moderately elongate, deep-bodied fish. It has a concave
snout profile, a large mouth and small eyes.
This species is olive to cream or yellowish with a reticulated pattern of
green markings on the back and sides. It is white to cream below. The
median fins are dusky with white margins. The
pelvic fins are white.
The Murray Cod is Australia's largest freshwater fish. It is a prized angling
species that can grows to a length of 1.8 m and weight of 113.5 kg. It is more
commonly seen up to 70 cm in length and under 10 kg.
This fish is
endemic to Australia, occurring in freshwaters of the Murray-Darling River
drainage in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. There are
also erroneous reports from the Dawson-Fitzroy drainage.
Murray Cod populations have declined dramatically since white settlement of
Australia. A commercial fishery between the 1880s and 1930s caused an initial
decline. More recently, overfishing, river degradation and human modification of
the environment have caused major population declines. Murray Cod are now
relatively uncommon in most areas.
View a
map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish
Collection.
The Murray Cod has also been referred to as Cod, Goodoo, Ponde and Pondi. The
last three names are examples of the many Aboriginal names for this species.
FISH BREEDERS QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA
PRICES
BACK TO LIST OF NATIVE FISH
| 
PYTHON JUNGLE . PLANT
NURSERY & GARDEN CENTRE &fish hatchery
![[Under Construction]](images/undercon.gif){kind=small}
