Mulloway — Australian Seafood Guide

Sourcing

Mulloway is exclusively wild-caught.

Where it comes from

Mulloway is most strongly associated with these 3 Australian regions:

South AustraliaTuna, oysters & premium prawns New South WalesEstuaries & Sydney Rock Oysters Spencer GulfPremium prawn fishery

How it's caught or grown

Estuarine net & line — Coorong fishery — Indigenous co-managed.
Recreational rod & line — Iconic prized species.

Production volume (last 5 years)

Total Australian annual production of Mulloway — wild-catch + aquaculture combined. Sourced from ABARES Australian Fisheries and Aquaculture Statistics.

Production volume (tonnes)Source: ABARES

primary estimate

How it's managed

Bag limit:2/day (SA recreational)Size limit:75cm (SA)

Nutrition (per 100g)

How Mulloway compares to imported equivalents on the headline nutrients consumers care about.

Protein22.5g19.4g

Omega-3 Fatty Acids720mg410mg

Selenium44µg28µg

Vitamin D5.5µg3.4µg

Vitamin B122.8µg1.9µg

Contaminants & price

Australian Mulloway compared to imported equivalents on mercury, antibiotic residues, and typical retail price. Unflagged metrics come from primary government sources (FSANZ, ABARES); synthesised numbers carry a visible tag.

Metric

Australian

Imported

Mercury (mg/kg)

0.18

0.22

Antibiotic residues

none

rare

Typical retail price (2026 Q1)editorial

$30–45/kg

$18–28/kg

From harvest to plate

Days-to-plate is one of the strongest arguments for buying Australian. Here's the typical timeline for Mulloway.

Step 1
Coorong catch
Day 0 days
Step 2
Onshore chill / Indigenous coop
0–1 days
Step 3
Wholesale
1–2 days
Step 4
Retail / chef-restaurant
2–3 days
Total
Total AUS days to plate
2–3 days

Seasonality

When to enjoy Mulloway at its peak.

Jangood

Febpeak

Marpeak

Aprpeak

Maypeak

Jungood

Julavailable

Augavailable

Sepavailable

Octavailable

Novgood

Decgood

Peak Good Available Off-season

How to cook it

Four go-to preparations for Mulloway that respect the fish — short cooks, clean flavours, no over-doing it.

Cure (gravlax)

Salt + sugar + dill, 36h, slice paper-thin.

Whole roast

Salt-crust, 220°C 30 min for 1.5kg, crack at the table.

Pan-sear

Skin-on, hot pan, 4 min skin side, 1 min flesh.

Ceviche

Diced, lime + chilli + coriander 5 min — firm flesh holds well.

Full recipe: Mulloway Gravlax with Citrus & Fennel →

Australian vs imported — at a glance

Wild Australian Mulloway vs imported corvina/jewfish — sciaenid relatives but very different products.

Australia

Australian Mulloway

SA / NSW estuaries

🇦🇺 Local

Wild caughtYes

Same species?Argyrosomus japonicus

MercuryLow for size

Stock-status reportsRecovering

Indigenous co-managementCoorong yes

Price per kg~$35

Overall rating: Australian Mulloway scores 8.7/10 — rebuilding wild stock, premium chef-favourite.

Various

Imported Corvina

South America

Wild caughtVariable

Same species?Different species

MercuryVariable

Stock-status reportsVariable

Indigenous co-managementNo

Price per kg~$22

Overall rating: Imported Corvina scores 5.8/10 — unrelated species marketed under similar names.

Read the full comparison →

Look-alikes & how to tell them apart

Products often confused with or substituted for Australian Mulloway — and what to look for instead.

Imported corvina (South America)

Why confused: Same family (Sciaenidae); generic 'jewfish' label.

How to tell: Australian mulloway has firmer, drier flesh and is sold whole or as identifiable fillets. Imports are usually frozen, vacuum-packed.

The risks of the imported version

Typically imported from: Imported ‘jewfish’ or ‘corvina’ from S. America (sciaenid family)

Imported corvina is a different species from variable origins
Long-haul refrigeration damages firm-flesh texture
Trace metals and origin verification often weak

See the full case against imported seafood →

How to buy it

🔍

Look for:

Ask for "Australian Mulloway" or "Coorong Mulloway" — never confuse with imported corvina/jewfish.

From 1 July 2026, every restaurant menu in Australia must show A (Australian), I (Imported), or M (Mixed) for each seafood dish. Read the law →

Key operators, co-ops & peak bodies

The businesses, co-operatives, and industry bodies behind Australian Mulloway.

Co-opCoorong Wild Seafood (Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority)· Coorong, SA ↗

Historical timeline

1981
Coorong commercial fishery formalised.
2009
Ngarrindjeri co-management arrangements scale.
2020
Stock rebuilding measures introduced after multi-year decline.

Sources for this page

SAFS 2024 — Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (2024)

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