WA Dhufish
Reef / OffshoreDhufish — WA dhufish, or dhuie — are Western Australia's premier table fish, endemic to WA and found nowhere else on earth. Mostly a boat-caught reef species over 20–40m of hard bottom from Kalbarri to Augusta, with the odd land-based fish from deep rock walls and jetties. Slow-growing and heavily regulated, so every legal dhufish is a genuine trophy.
Overview
WA dhufish is Western Australia's iconic table fish — endemic to WA and found nowhere else in the world. While primarily a boat-caught reef species, land-based catches do occur from deep-water structure. Dhufish are slow-growing and heavily regulated, making every legal fish a genuine trophy.
Identification
Dhuie, dhu, Westralian jewfish, WA jewfish
Deep, slab-sided fish with a steep forehead, an enormous eye and a big mouth — unmistakable once you've seen one. Adults are pearly grey-brown with faint darker bars and a dark stripe running through the eye, and the dorsal and tail fins carry long trailing filaments; mature males develop a pronounced bump on the forehead. Juveniles are boldly barred and look like a different fish entirely. Nothing else on WA reef looks like it, though it gets confused with mulloway by name, since both are called 'jewfish' here — mulloway is the silver, elongate surf-and-estuary fish, dhufish is the deep-bodied reef fish.
How to Catch
Whole squid, whole pilchards, octopus, mulie
Large soft plastics (7" Gulp Jerk Shad, Z-Man 7" StreakZ) on a 1.5–3oz jig head, plus slow-pitch and knife jigs (Ocean's Legacy Hybrid 150–250g, Williamson Benthos 200g) worked just off the reef in 20–40m. Match jig weight to depth and current so you stay near the bottom where dhufish hold.
Heavy paternoster rig with two 6/0–8/0 hooks and a bomb sinker to hold bottom in current. Use 40–60lb leader. The rig needs to be robust — dhufish head straight for the reef when hooked.
Mainly a boat-fishing species. From land, target deep-water structure such as the end of long jetties or deep rock walls. Lower whole squid or pilchard baits to the bottom near reef structure and wait. Dhufish feed close to the reef, so accuracy in placement is important. When hooked, apply heavy pressure immediately to prevent them from reaching the reef.
Bite throughout the day but dawn and dusk are most productive. Tide changes near deep reef structure are key. Active year-round, with some anglers reporting better catches in the cooler months.
Up to 25kg, commonly 3–8kg
Year-round
Size & Growth
Most dhufish that come over the side are 45–65 cm and 3–8 kg. A good one is 70 cm-plus and 10 kg; anything approaching the 25 kg headline maximum is an exceptional fish and an old one. They're slow-growing and long-lived — well past two decades — and they don't move far, which is why localised patches get fished down and why the bag limits are as tight as they are. There's no minimum size, so the honest guidance is to keep a couple of mid-sized fish and leave the big breeders. Land-based dhufish are rare and almost always small.
Diet & Habitat
Dhufish eat fish, squid, octopus and crustaceans, feeding close to the bottom around ledges, caves and broken limestone reef rather than out in open water. They hold in 10–50 m, most commonly 20–40 m, and sit tight to structure — a dhufish patch is a specific piece of reef, not a general area. They're endemic to Western Australia and found nowhere else on earth, running from about Shark Bay down to Augusta, with the deeper reefs off Perth, Rottnest, Mandurah and the Capes the best-known grounds. They suffer badly from barotrauma when brought up from depth, so carry a release weight.
WA Size & Bag Limits
| Minimum size | No minimum size |
|---|---|
| Bag limit | 2 (West Coast bioregion); 1 (Abrolhos and other bioregions) |
| Counts toward | Counts within the West Coast demersal mixed bag of 2. West Coast boat-based demersal fishing is closed until spring 2027; land-based line fishing is exempt, but land-based spearfishing for dhufish is not permitted. |
Minimum size: none — WA dhufish currently has no minimum legal size. Individual bag limit: 2 in the West Coast bioregion (1 in the Abrolhos and other bioregions), taken within the West Coast demersal mixed bag of 2. West Coast boat-based demersal fishing is closed until spring 2027, so only land-based demersal fishing (bag of 2) is legal there now. The land-based exemption covers line, drone and spear fishing — with one carve-out: spearfishing for WA dhufish is not permitted at all.
Eating Quality
Yes — and most West Aussies will tell you it's the best fish in the country, which is only mild exaggeration. Firm, white, sweet flesh in thick large flakes, clean-flavoured, with no bloodline worth trimming. Bleed and ice on the spot to keep that flesh prime. Mid-sized fish around 4–6 kg are the sweet spot; very big ones are still excellent but coarsen a little through the shoulder. It's forgiving of every method — pan-fry, grill, bake in foil with butter and lemon, poach, or eat it raw as sashimi — and the thick fillets off a decent fish justify the tight bag limit. The wings and cheeks are the best eating on the fish and are routinely binned by people who don't know better. It freezes better than most, though with a bag of two you shouldn't need to.
Perth Tips
Land-based dhufish are rare in Perth — most are caught from boats over reef in 20–40m of water. If you're land-based, focus on the deepest structure you can access. Consider a charter trip to experience dhufish fishing properly.