Whats the difference between estuary cod / gold spot cod / greasy cod?

[Lukeyboy83]

This should be an interesting thread with a bit of luck. I am keen on writing my next article for Fish and Boat on this topic. I have been asked upteen times what the difference is and to be quite honest - I cant tell. They look virtually identical in pictures but have a differing max size limit. I have heard that some DPI fisheries officer dont even know the difference. Are they the same fish and people just call them gold spots or greasys when they catch them at the reef? Any feedback will be greatly appreciated as I feel this needs to be covered to avoid future confusion between rec anglers particularly

[welshy22]

this is a fairly interesting topic, would love to see some feedback

[elops]

Hard to tell the difference.
Goldspotted Cod E. coioides have less spots and white belly.
Greasy Cod E. tauvina have more spots all over entire body.
Supposed ID key for E. tauvina is black blocth at base of last 4 dorsal spines but this is not easy to determine.
Fish being tagged is a Gold Spotted, other pic is the standard ID pic for Greasy