Australia has over 5000 described species of fish, a quarter of which are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Seafood Seafood is any form of Marine life, sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including Fish as food, fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of Mollusca, molluscs (e.g., bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters, and mussel ...

and

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...

are major and highly regulated industries, and fishing for marine and

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

fish is popular.

Species of freshwater fish

For its land-size,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

has a low diversity of native

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are fish species that spend some or all of their lives in bodies of fresh water such as rivers, lakes, ponds and inland wetlands, where the salinity is less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine habitats in many wa ...

with only 281 described species. This is largely because Australia is a very dry continent with sporadic rainfall and large areas of

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

. There is a higher diversity of salt water fish. The most common freshwater fish are: *

Murray cod The Murray cod (''Maccullochella peelii'') is a large Australian predatory freshwater fish of the genus '' Maccullochella'' in the family Percichthyidae.Dianne J. Bray & Vanessa J. Thompson (2011Murray Cod, Maccullochella peelii Fishes of Au ...

* Australian bass Other species include: * Australian grayling * Australian smelt * Climbing galaxias *

Common galaxias The common galaxias (''Galaxias maculatus'') or inanga (from the Māori language, Māori ''īnanga'' or ''īnaka'') is a species of ray-finned fish from the family Galaxiidae that is widespread in the Southern Hemisphere. It is fish migration, m ...

* Eastern freshwater cod * Eel-tailed catfish *

Estuary perch The estuary perch (''Percalates colonorum'') is a species of ray-finned fish endemic to south-eastern Australia, where it prefers brackish waters such as the tidal reaches of coastal lakes, rivers, and streams. Appearance It is very similar to a ...

* Flathead galaxias * Golden perch * Halfbeak/Garfish * Jardini * Inanga * Macquarie perch * Mary River cod * Mountain galaxias *

Queensland lungfish The Australian lungfish (''Neoceratodus forsteri''), also known as the Queensland lungfish, Burnett salmon and barramunda, is the only surviving member of the family Neoceratodontidae. It is one of only six extant lungfish species in the world. ...

Rainbowfish Rainbowfishes are small, colourful freshwater fishes belonging to the Family (biology), family Melanotaeniidae, found in northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea (including islands in Cenderawasih Bay and Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesia), Sula ...

* Retropinnidae * River blackfish * Saratoga * Salamanderfish *

Short-finned eel The short-finned eel (''Anguilla australis''), also known as the shortfin eel, is one of the 15 species of eel in the family Anguillidae. It is native to the lakes, dams and coastal rivers of south-eastern Australia, New Zealand, and much of th ...

* Sleepy cod * Trout cod * Two-spined blackfish *

Western carp gudgeon The Western carp gudgeon (''Hypseleotris klunzingeri'') is a species of freshwater Gobiiform fish endemic to southeastern Australia. ''H. klunzingeri'' is a social species that forms loose shoals within slow moving waters of the Murray–Darl ...

Marine fish

''Abelites'' * Starry triggerfish *'' Abelites stellates'' ''Anlaby's'' *'' Anlaby's taenianotus'' ''Abilene's'' * Flat needlefish

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Australia Recreational fishing