Stout whiting  The stout whiting, "Sillago robusta" (also known as the yellow-cheek whiting and school whiting), is a species of benthic marine fish in the smelt-whiting family Sillaginidae. Like other sillaginids, it is an elongate, slightly compressed fish, growing to a maximum known length of 30 cm. The stout whiting is endemic to Australia, with the species divided into western and eastern populations, with the western population ranging from Shark Bay to Fremantle and the eastern population from Bustard Head, Queensland to northern New South Wales. The species inhabits deep, sandy continental shelf regions to a depth of at least 70 m. The stout whiting is a benthic carnivore, consuming a variety of polychaetes and crustaceans. The species grows rapidly, and sexual maturity is reached at a length of 13 cm, with spawning occurring between December and March. Juveniles of the eastern population move to protected inshore waters, while those of the western population remain offshore their entire life. Stout whiting are the subject of a major export fishery operating out of southern Queensland and to a lesser extent New South Wales, with fishery authorities limiting the yearly catch to 1000 tonnes in Queensland. Most of the catch is exported frozen to a number of Asian countries, although small quantities are sold in Australia, with the net worth of the fishery values at around 3 million Australian dollars per year. The stout whiting is one of 29 species in the genus "Sillago", which is one of three divisions of the smelt whiting family Sillaginidae. The smelt-whitings are Perciformes in the suborder Percoidea. The species was first scientifically described by Stead in 1908 based on a specimen collected from Rose Bay in Port Jackson, New South Wales, which was designated to be the holotype. After this description and naming, the species was once again described and named by William Ogilby in 1910 as "Sillago auricomis", based on a specimen taken from near Hervey Bay in Queensland. This is considered to be junior synonym under ICZN naming rules and has subsequently been discarded. During a comprehensive revision of the sillaginids in 1985, Roland McKay noted that the eastern and western populations of fish varied slightly in their fin osteology and swimbladder morphology, but recommended a full osteological comparison before placing them in subspecies ranks.