Can be identified by its large size, blue-green colouration on the upper part of the body, yellow stripe along the midline and a short dorsal fin lobe. The species occurs in large schools on coastal reefs, particularly near deep dropoffs, and also occasionally enters estuaries. It is the largest of the pelagic fishes commonly seen by divers in NSW waters. It is also one of the fastest-growing fishes, reaching maturity after two years when about 500 mm long. The flesh of yellowtail kingfish from northern areas is often heavily infected with a parasitic worm, which turns the flesh mushy when cooked.

• Max Size: 250 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 15.0-26.2°C
• Depth: 1-150m
• Habitat: Coral Reef, Open ocean, Rocky Reef
• Habitat Generalisation Index: 19.1
  Also referred to as the SGI (Species generalisation index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here

• Threats: Exploitation
• IUCN Threat Status: Not Evaluated
• Occurrence: Frequent (11% of sites)
  Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
• Abundance: Many (16 per transect)
  Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.