The estuary perch (Percalates colonorum)[2] is a species of ray-finned fish endemic to south-eastern Australia, where it prefers brackish waters such as the tidal reaches of coastal lakes, rivers, and streams.

[3] It is very similar to and very closely related to its sister species, the Australian bass, Percalates novemaculeata, differing in having a slightly more "scooped" forehead and reaching a larger length of 75 cm (30 in).

Estuary perch breed in winter at the same time as Australian bass, and are similarly sexually dimorphic, with females larger than males.

Longevity is a survival strategy to ensure that most adults participate in at least one exceptional spawning and recruitment event, which are often linked to unusually wet La Niña years and may only occur every one or two decades.

Nevertheless, the estuary perch remains a popular albeit somewhat specialist angling or game fish in its surviving range in the states of Victoria (particularly) and New South Wales.