This widely distributed demersal species occurs in inshore waters to the upper continental slope. It is a long lived, schooling species that is particularly vulnerable to fishing. The estimated generation time is 16.7 years, and therefore, three generations are about 50 years. In eastern Australia, it is targeted by fisheries, and according to stock assessment data, it is considered overfished with a ~95% decline in spawning biomass having occurred since the mid-1970s, or over the past three generations (1974–2024). It is also taken in fisheries in New Zealand. The Australian fishery stock is managed with fishing regulations and a stock rebuilding plan is in place, although recruitment has been low since the early 2000s. With no available information on stock size in other regions and based on an assumption that the Australian population represents 30–50% of  the total population, a global decline of about 27–45% is inferred. Given the species is caught in fisheries outside Australia, biomass depletion may have also occurred in these areas (e.g., New Zealand), and the global decline may actually be greater than 45%. It is assessed as Vulnerable A2bd with a recommendation to research population trends in regions other than Australia and potential connectivity among jurisdictions.

This species is distributed in the southwest Pacific in New Caledonia, and in Australia from eastern Tasmania and the Central Bass Strait, Victoria to Fraser Island, Queensland, the Lord Howe Province and Norfolk Island, and in New Zealand from the Kermadec Islands south to Cook Strait (Francis 1993, Fricke et al. 2011, Roberts 2015, Bray 2022). Records from elsewhere in Australia (GBIF online database accessed January 2024) require verification. The depth range is 5–450 m (Fricke et al. 2011, Roberts 2015, AFMA 2016).

The population of this species in eastern Australia, which is considered a single fishery stock (Emery et al. 2021), is inferred to represent about 30–50% of its global population. It has occurred as incidental catch in commercial fisheries in Australia since 1915 and has been subjected to heavy fishing pressure since the 1960s (Tilzey 1999, Morison and Rowling 2001). Large amounts of discards of this species occurred in the 1980s. The 2014 stock assessment of this species estimated biomass to be below the limit reference point of 20% unfished biomass, and it was considered overfished (Tuck 2014, AFMA 2016). According to the 2020 South Eastern Australia stock status report, it is considered "depleted" (Emery et al. 2021). The most recent stock assessment estimated the 2021 spawning stock biomass to be at 3.8% of virgin spawning stock biomass (Bessell-Browne and Tuck 2020). Catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) declined by ~90% from 1986 to 2016 and spawning biomass declined by ~95% from 15,986 t in 1974 to 747 t in 2021 (Bessell-Browne and Tuck 2020). Recruitment has been mostly lower than average since the early 2000s (Bessell-Browne and Tuck 2020).

This species is common in northern New Zealand and is generally rare south of East Cape and Cape Egmont (Roberts and Gomon 2008, Fisheries New Zealand 2023). It is taken in commercial fisheries in northern New Zealand, and total catches were historically (until about 2015) much lower compared to eastern Australia. Total landings in New Zealand peaked at 212 t in 1996–1997 and declined to an average of 50 t since 2003-2004. Most recently, New Zealand’s total landings in 2021–2022 were 114 t (Fisheries New Zealand 2023). In Australia (New South Wales and eastern Bass Strait), total landings peaked at 2,400 t in 1980 and were 34 t in 2019 (Bessell-Browne and Tuck 2020). No formal stock assessment is available for New Zealand due to insufficient data and the stock status is unknown. The total allowable catch (TAC) limit in 2022 was ~170 t (Fisheries New Zealand 2023), which is considerably higher than the Australian 50 t bycatch TAC. The TAC was exceeded in the fishing years from 2013 to 2018 in one of the two main fishing areas where this species has been landed in New Zealand (Fisheries New Zealand 2023).

The proportion of the global population that each area within its range (Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia) represents is not well understood. Based on its geographic spread, Australia may represent 30–50% of the global population, and in Australia, a ~95% decline in spawning biomass has occurred since the mid-1970s. The population status in New Zealand, where it is also caught in fisheries and where a significant proportion of the global population is likely present, is unknown. Data for this species in New Caledonia are very limited. Based on the assumption that Australia represents 30–50% of the global population, and by applying a weighted decline, global biomass is estimated to have declined by about 27–45% since 1974, or over the past three generations (50 years; 1974–2024). The global decline may be higher than 45%, but data are not available at this time to provide more accurate estimates of status.

This demersal reef-associated species inhabits the continental shelf and upper slope with muddy substrate (Roberts 2015, Bray 2022). It is nocturnal, forming dense schools midwater during the day and dispersing into the water column to feed at night (Roberts and Gomon 2008, Roberts 2015, Bray 2022). Adults are most abundant in deeper waters at depths of 100 to 200 m (Kailola et al. 1993, Rowling 1994). Juveniles aggregate in shallow coastal waters and estuaries or take refuge in caves and ledges during the day (Roberts and Gomon 2008, Bray 2022). This species feeds on planktonic fishes, crustaceans, and mollusks (Roberts 2015, Bray 2022). The maximum standard length is 43.5 cm (Roberts 2015).

The maximum recorded age is 44 years (Morison and Rowling 2001), it reaches sexual maturity at 4-6 years of age (Tilzey 1999), natural mortality is estimated to be 0.075 y^-1 (Bessell-Browne and Tuck 2020) and the mean generation time is about 16.7 years according to a stock assessment analysis by Tuck (2014). Therefore, we estimate three generations to be about 50.1 years.

This species is a long lived, schooling species, making it particularly vulnerable to fishing pressure (AFMA 2016). Individual mean length has gradually declined since 1975, potentially as a result of undocumented discarding of small fish (Bessell-Browne and Tuck 2020). Ongoing climate change, which is causing water temperature changes within this species' range, may impact its recovery and recruitment capacity (AFMA 2016, Emery et al. 2021, Mazloumi and Nicol 2023); although, recent work suggests this species has a low susceptibility to climate change impacts (P. Bessell-Browne and G. Tuck pers. comm. 2024).

This species is targeted by commercial and recreational fisheries in Australia (Bray 2022). It is particularly important in trawl fisheries in New South Wales and eastern Victoria (Roberts and Gomon 2008). A majority of the catch is taken in trawls from depths of 100 to 200 m (Rowling 1994). Individuals under 20 cm fork length are generally discarded (Liggins 1996). This species contributed to over 50% of the total catch that was discarded by the fishery in 2002 (Punt et al. 2006). This species is also taken as bycatch in New Zealand commercial and recreational fisheries (Fisheries New Zealand 2023).

This species is managed by Australia's Fishery Management Authority as part of the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery with an annually determined Total Allowable Catch (TAC) limit (Morison and Rowling 2003). The Australian Government has put in place a stock rebuilding strategy that is updated every five years and aims to reduce fishing pressure, including incidental catch, and to monitor population trends (AFMA 2016). A TAC limit is also in place in New Zealand (Fisheries New Zealand 2023).

Research is needed on population trends where it is exploited outside Australian waters as well as population connectivity across its global population.