Flathead Grey Mullet

Habitat Distribution

• Native to Australia; found along most of the coastline from Western Australia around to Queensland and NSW, with east and west coast populations genetically distinct from each other.
• The east coast stock is considered a single biological unit stretching from central Queensland to eastern Victoria, with the bulk of fish concentrated in central and northern NSW estuaries and ocean beaches.
• Primarily a shallow-water species — estuaries, tidal rivers, surf beaches, and inshore coastal waters — but also moves into the freshwater reaches of coastal rivers.
• Within estuaries, schools associate with shallow weed beds, bare sand and mud flats, and the margins of tidal channels, typically in the top 10 m of the water column.

Key Locations

• Central and northern NSW estuaries and ocean beaches — the heart of the east coast stock, with the largest commercial and recreational catches recorded here between autumn and early winter.
• Swan River, Perth (WA) — holds resident schools of large sea mullet year-round, accessible from shore and by wading in tidal reaches.
• Queensland inshore waters and estuaries from central Qld northward — part of the same east coast biological stock as NSW fish.
• Hen and Chicken Bay and other tidal flats in Sydney Harbour — historically productive for mullet on sand flats on the making tide.

Specific Spots

• Sand and mud flats in estuaries on a making (rising) tide — mullet move onto these shallows to feed on algae and detritus as water covers them.
• Weed bed edges in tidal reaches, where schools graze along the bottom; look for surface disturbance or tailing fish as a visual cue.
• Ocean beach gutters and the wash zone, particularly in NSW where commercial and recreational catches peak in the surf during autumn runs.
• Tidal river banks and jetty pilings where current concentrates organic matter — mullet work these edges methodically, especially around tide changes.