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Barramundi, meaning “large-scaled fish”, is the name the Aboriginal people of Australia gave to Lates calcarifer. It is also know as the “passion fish”, a name derived from a folk story in which two young lovers, forbidden from being together by their tribe’s elders, run away and are hunted down by their tribes. The story ends with the two cornered lovers jumping into the sea and transforming into Barramundi, where they live to this day. The spines on the dorsal fin of the barramundi are said to be the spears hurled at the lovers by their tribes.

<figure class="wp-block-image"><figcaption>https://www.tnaqua.org/our-animals/fish/barramundi</figcaption></figure>

Barramundi are catadromous, meaning, like the salmon, they live in both fresh and salt water throughout their lives. Unlike salmon, the barramundi returns to the sea to spawn instead of rivers. Barraundi have an elongate, laterally compressed body, with a pointed head, large scales, and a big mouth.

<figure class="wp-block-image"><figcaption>Diagram of Barramundi aquaculture stages, from http://www.fao.org/fi/figis/culturespecies/data/assets/images/lates/calcarifer-prdcycle.jpg</figcaption></figure>

In Australia, Barramundi are an important commercial species, and a target of recreational fishers. They are well-suited to aquaculture, with a good tolerance for crowding and high production of eggs by females. Additionally, juveniles readily adapt to feeding on pellets. Barramundi may be raised in tanks, shallow ponds, or floating cages. Cannibalism is one of the major issues facing barramundi aquaculture, but grading, or sorting the fish by size, helps reduce mortality due to cannibalism. In regions where sustained cold temperatures occur, like southern Australia, barramundi may be grown in recirculating culture systems. These systems have the added benefit of being located close to markets.

This has been On the Ocean, a program made possible by the Department of Oceanography and a production of KAMU-FM on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station. For more information and links please go to ocean.tamu.edu and click On the Ocean.

Featured image from: https://vfa.vic.gov.au/recreational-fishing/recreational-fishing-guide/catch-limits-and-closed-seasons/types-of-fish/freshwater-scale-fish/barramundi

Script Authors: Julieta Barreiro and Samuel Marquardt

Contributing Professor: Dr. Lisa Campbell

Editor: James M. Fiorendino