All images are by the author and are of specimens taken legally under whitebait licence.
During the warming days of October and early November, the renewal of summer time provides an extra hour of daylight in the evening. Along the Derwent, Huon and other large rivers near the coast, Tasmanians indulge in a pastime that would be recognisable to their great grandparents. Some are armed with only a net a little over 30cm in diameter with mesh fine enough that the small fish known as whitebait cannot wriggle through. Others also have a rod or two in the water and fish for whitebait between casts.
Both my grandfather and uncle were whitebait fishers and, after moving back to Tasmania almost two decades ago, I bought a licence for several years. One day I had been struggling for an hour or more when another fisherman came to share my spot and he managed to catch what appeared to be the limit in a few minutes. Luckily – since I had no particular knack for it – my interest was more in the composition of the whitebait run and trying to get photographs of the fish using a portable aquarium as a studio.
Whitebait fishing is a tradition that almost came to a tragic end. The tiny fish, Lovettia sealii, which provided the basis for a substantial industry in the mid-20th century, was almost wiped out by overfishing. Yet the species was at one time so common that apocryphal stories told how you could walk across the river on their schools.
Every year in early spring these tiny fish, a mere 75mm (three inches) long, swarm against the current from the estuary to freshwater where, like tiny salmon, they breed and die.
Tasmanian whitebait have recently been found in some streams in southern Victoria, but for all intents and purposes Tasmania is its only home of any significance.
According to zoologist and writer Theodore Roughley (1888-1961), the Tasmanian whitebait industry started in 1941 when it was found that small fish caught in the Huon River produced canned whitebait which was similar in quality to the imported New Zealand product. By 1947 the production peaked at about 515 tonnes, but the fishery collapsed rapidly thereafter. Overfishing was suspected and steps were taken to protect the species in northern Tasmania.
The fishery in New Zealand harvested the juvenile form of Galaxias maculatus, which migrates from estuaries to fresh water to mature and breed. The Tasmanian fishery consisted of about 10 per cent galaxias and smelt and 90 per cent Lovettia sealii, a similarly sized but adult fish that were migrating into fresh water only to breed. In other words the Tasmanian industry was rapidly depleting the entire breeding stock of the Tasmanian whitebait species.
In 1974, after many years of declining catches (in 1961 the catch was only 6 per cent of former levels), the whitebait fishery was completely closed. By 1990 the stocks were considered sufficiently recovered to sustain a tightly controlled recreational fishery.
Today the whitebait fishery is restricted to recreational fishers with regulations about the type and number of nets that can be used and the quantity of fish that can be taken by each fisherman. The sale of whitebait is no longer permitted. Only certain larger rivers are open to whitebait fishing every year. Some smaller streams are open on alternate years to allow stocks to recover.
In the five years 2017-21, the number of licences bought annually has averaged 752. In 2020 a whitebait fishing licence cost $32 and fishers were permitted to take up to 2kg a day and up to 10kg a season. Except for an increase in the daily (but not seasonal) limit in 2011 the management plan has remained basically unchanged since 2006, and the Inland Fisheries Service does not expect any significant change to the management plan for 2021-25.
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The whitebait run is made up of several similarly sized fish. The life histories of several of the species are still not completely understood. They main species are:
Tasmanian whitebait, Lovettia sealii: This species, which the whitebait season was created to protect, looks rather like other Galaxiids but unlike Galaxias has an adipose fin behind the dorsal. The main run of Tasmanian whitebait occurs in the early spring and the legal whitebait season only catches the tail end of it. Like galaxias and smelt, it is a member of the osmeriform order of fish.
Climbing galaxias, Galaxias brevipinnis: The largest of Tasmania’s galaxias when adult, this species is middle-sized when caught as a juvenile in the whitebait season. As an adult this species inhabits the upper headwaters of streams. To facilitate their migration far upstream, they have downward facing pectoral fins which allow them to wriggle up damp rock faces to circumvent even substantial waterfalls and weirs.
Spotted galaxias, Galaxias truttaceous: This is the largest of the juvenile galaxias when taken in the whitebait run. As an adult, it inhabits the middle reaches of streams and is distinguished by its distinct spots and robust form. It gives the impression of a small trout, but notably lacks an adipose fin and the dorsal fin is set further to the rear than in a trout.
Common galaxias, Galaxias maculatus: The most abundant species in the whitebait run. The other galaxias tend to be more common in the early part of the season while this species continues running into the summer. As adults, they inhabit the lower reaches of streams and upper parts of estuaries. This species has perhaps the most widespread natural range of any freshwater fish. It is found on all the continents of the southern hemisphere. Also called jollytail and New Zealand whitebait, they form the basis of the whitebait catch in New Zealand. The whitebait season in Tasmania has been timed to concentrate on this most abundant species.
Tasmanian mudfish, Neochanna cleaveri: The smallest of the juvenile galaxias taken in the whitebait run and also the smallest as an adult. Mudfish inhabit lowland wetlands of shallow sometimes ephemeral pools. The Tasmanian mudfish is reputed to be able to aestivate (go dormant) by burrowing into the mud when its habitat dries up.
Tasmanian smelt, Retropinna tasmanica: An osmeriform fish which, like the Tasmanian whitebait, is characterised by the presence of an adipose fin behind the dorsal, but unlike it is covered with tiny scales. This species is said to have a distinctive cucumber-like odour when caught. Surprisingly for a relatively common species, I have never seen a photo of it in the literature.
Australian Grayling, Prototroctes maraena: The adult is the largest of the whitebait species and grows to a size which formerly had made it an angling species. It has small scales and an adipose fin like a smelt. Like a smelt it also has a cucumber-like odour. I have never seen one while whitebait fishing.
Small-mouthed hardyhead Atherinosoma microstoma: The only commonly caught species which is not an osmeriform fish. It is distinguished by large scales (compared to the smelt) and the presence of two fairly similar dorsal fins. This species is common in coastal lagoons and estuaries.
Acknowledgements: The author wishes to thank Tasmania's Inland Fisheries Service for information about the numbers of whitebait licences and the Whitebait Management Plan.
Alister Donnelly was born in Hobart and studied zoology and environmental science at LaTrobe and Monash universities in Melbourne. After spending most of his life interstate and in the US, he fulfilled a long-held ambition to return and settle in Tasmania. He now lives in the Central Highlands with his wife, three dogs and surrounded by wildlife.