Winter whiting is the common name of a species of whiting endemic to the east coast of Australia from southern New South Wales all the way to north Queensland that are at their most plentiful during the winter months. Commonly known as both TRUMPETER WHITING and DIVER WHITING, and with a scientific name of SILLAGO MACULATA, this much sought after fish is nowhere near as common as it once was in various bays and inlets down the east coast of Australia, mainly due to chronic overfishing from both professional trawlers and recreational fishermen, water pollution and the destruction of mangrove habitat, where fish are supposed to breed. Obviously those three factors have had a negative impact on many species of fish to varying degrees, not to mention various other forms of marine life including crabs and other crustaceans, but because Winter Whiting were once so common that you could catch between 50 to 100 in one afternoon straight off the shoreline without even needing a boat, it stands out a lot more than with other fish species just how their numbers have diminished since i was kid, remembering i am 38 this sunday. I can always remember going down to my aunty's and uncle's place at Victoria Point, right on the edge of Moreton Bay when i was a young kid and being able to catch a bag of Winter Whiting with nothing more than a handline and a few beach worms, nowadays you wouldn't have a hope in hell of catching more than two or three, if any at all, down at Thompsons Beach or the Coochie Mudlo Island jetty where me, my father and my brothers went fishing many years ago. I will never forget the time when me and my brother were up to our waist in water fishing for Winter Whiting at the mouth of Eprapah Creek which is actually Victoria Point itself, right on dusk when bullsharks and tiger sharks could have quite easily been hanging around. No way known to man i would try that now (laugh), sometimes it's a good thing you lose your nerve when you get older.
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