Silver Sweep

The silver sweep has deep and strongly compressed body with a thin caudal peduncle. The head is moderately sized with an almost straight dorsal profile, a short snout and quite large eyes. The mouth is small and oblique with small but strong teeth in the jaws arranged in broad bands with the outer band being enlarged and recurved. Most of the body is covered in very small ctenoid scales and there is a gently curved lateral line. The dorsal fin continuous with a very short first spine, there are a 10 spines which progressively become higher towards the tail, the first rays in the soft-rayed portion of the dorsal fin is only slightly higher than the spiny portion giving the dorsal fin an almost straight profile. The soft-rayed part of the dorsal fin contains 26-28 soft rays. The anal fin has 3 spines and 27-28 soft rays.

The silver sweep is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean off Australia and New Zealand. In Australia it is found from Moreton Bay in Queensland south to Tasmania and west as far as Victor Harbor, South Australia. It is also found in the Tasman Sea around Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. Silver sweep are a common fish on the east coast of Australia, particularly in New South Wales. In New Zealand silver sweep are distributed around the coast of the North Island, however vagrants have been recorded as far south as Dunedin

The silver sweep is of secondary importance as a target for commercial fisheries and is caught using purse seines and trap nets. Since 1997-98 the amount landed in New South Wales has declined from nearly 15t to less than 50t. About 60t are caught annually in New South Wales by recreational fishermen. The flesh of the silver sweep is said to be firm and of excellent quality.