PAINTED SWEETLIP | SLATE BREAM Photos, Info, Catch, Cook, Buy

Painted Sweetlip | Slate Bream (Diagramma pictum) Photographs and Information

Also known as Slatey Sweetlip & Painted Sweetlip

Australian Slatey, Blackall, Bluey, Greysweetlips, Moke, Morwong, Mother-in-law Fish, Painted Blubber-lips, Painted Sweetlip Bream, Slate Bream, Slate Sweetlips, Slatey Sweetlips, Smokey Bream, Thicklip, Thicklip Bream, Yellowdot Sweetlips

Also known as Slatey Sweetlip & Painted Sweetlip

Australian Slatey, Blackall, Bluey, Greysweetlips, Moke, Morwong, Mother-in-law Fish, Painted Blubber-lips, Painted Sweetlip Bream, Slate Bream, Slate Sweetlips, Slatey Sweetlips, Smokey Bream, Thicklip, Thicklip Bream, Yellowdot Sweetlips

Juvenile Slate Bream are brown with golden toning, with a number of dark bands running the length of the fish. Adult fish lose most of their colour and take on a dull grey-blue look, with small dark splotches all over the body. The tail is speckled with small olive-yellow spots.

The Slate Bream is common in the tropics. It is found all along the Queensland coast, around the top half of the continent and the top half of Western Australia. It frequents sandy areas of the reef but will occasionally be found in estuaries. It is usually found in large schools. They grow to 94 cm and can weigh over 5 kg.

Most species have small mouths with large fleshy lips and usually undergo dramatic colour change as they grow

Adults often bear little resemblance to their young typically active at night sweetlips include all species of the genera Plectorhinchus (miscellaneous sweetlips) and Diagramma (painted sweetlips, also known as slately bream)

Diagramma Pictum, slate bream, mother in law fish

wpeC.jpg (3592 bytes)

Scientific Name	Diagrama pictum
Location	Nth WA, NT, QLD, NSW
Season	All year round
Size	To 94 cm
Australian Species Code	37 350904
Taste, Texture	Good eating. Firm flesh.

Nutritional Information
For every 100 grams raw product
for Slate Bream fillet.

Kilojoules	-
Cholesterol	-
Sodium	-
Total fat (oil)	-
Saturated fat	-
Monounsaturated fat	-
Polyunsaturated fat	-
Omega-3, EPA	-
Omega-3, DHA	-
Omega-6, AA	-

Angling for Slate Bream:

The species occurs in tropical waters of the Indo-West and Central Pacific. In Australia it is known from the central coast of Western Australia, around the tropical north, and as far south on the east coast as the central coast of New South Wales. Size range - The species grows to about 1 m in length, but is common to 45 cm. Fish for Slate Bream using a bottom rig, baited with fish, prawns or crab.

Read more about Fishing for Slate Bream

Cooking Slate Bream:

Bream or sweetlip is sold whole (gilled and gutted), in cutlet, steak and fillet forms. Other breams are generally sold whole (gilled and gutted), only occasionally as fillets, usually already skinned. In whole fish look for lustrous skin, firm flesh, and a pleasant, fresh sea smell. In fillets, look for firm, lustrous, moist flesh without any brown markings or oozing water and with a pleasant fresh sea smell. Breams are best steamed, poached, pan-fried, baked, grilled or barbecued. They make excellent stock.

Read more about Cooking Bream | Recipes for Bream

Commercial Fishing for Slate Bream:

Caught by handlines, traps, bottom longlines and trawls. Marketed fresh and frozen. Available year round. Found in Nth WA, NT, QLD, NSW. Australian Species Code 37 350904. Buyers and sellers companies listed.

Read more about Slate Bream Commercial Fishery

Painted Sweetlip, Slate Bream, Diagramma pictum
Photo from Australian Museum