To 60 centimetres. A species of northern waters ranging south to Cook Strait and adjacent South Island coasts, it is not now so abundant as formerly. It regularly runs up rivers, sometimes for many miles, into purely fresh water, feeding there on fine waterweed and on minute animals in soft mud. It is similar to the yelloweye mullet but is stouter, has a broader and more rounded snout, and a thick fleshy surround which covers all but the pupil of the eye. Its colour is a silvery grey, with a brownish flush on freshwater examples. The Maori name kanae is still in use on northern coasts. Normal methods of capturing this mainly herbivorious fish include gill and drag netting. Popular eating fish when smoked, it is also favoured as a bait species.

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