Fish
Twobar Bream
Acanthopagrus bifasciatus
A silvery seabream marked by two bold dark bars across the head, favouring KZN's inshore reefs and estuary mouths.
Also known as bream, doublebar bream, steenbras, twobar seabream, white steenbras
- Typical size
- Commonly 25-40 cm
- Habitat
- Inshore rocky reef, estuary mouths and harbour structure
- Depth
- Shallows to about 30 m
The twobar bream is a deep-bodied, silvery seabream instantly recognised by two dark vertical bands, one through the eye and one behind the head, and by the yellowish tints on its fins. It has powerful crushing teeth suited to a diet of shellfish, crabs, urchins and other hard-shelled invertebrates.
It frequents inshore rocky reefs, estuary mouths and harbour walls along the KwaZulu-Natal coast, often in the surf zone and around structure. A wary, hard-fighting fish, it is popular with rock-and-surf anglers and is occasionally taken by spearos on shallow reef. It is sometimes confused with white steenbras in older records, though it is a distinct subtropical species.