Another tropical visitor in Sydney; the purple rock cod is normally found in tropical Australia. The most southern sighting in Reef Life Survey is Port Stephens, but a specimen was caught in Sydney Harbour in 1991. The juvenile in this photo was flitting around at Shiprock, Port Hacking in October 2016. Photo captured from high definition video.
Black cod used to be plentiful in our waters but have diminished to such an extent to be a rare find in recent years. With solid protections now in place, we are now starting to see more of them. This is the fourth individual we have seen in Sydney over the last two years; it is estimated at 80 cm and has been seen several times in the sanctuary zone at Shelly Beach, Sydney.
This rare species was hiding under the ledges in the harbour today; not absolutely sure that it's a black cod. It was very shy and hard to photograph...
Black cod are a protected species, living in warmer waters along the east coast of Australia. This one was patrolling through tunnel cave at fish rock; great to get such a close-up