This species is clearly conservation-dependent (Gillett 2010) and, while there are numerous threats to its persistence in the wild, the synergistic nature of intrinsic and extrinsic factors result in exploitation being its primary threat. Intrinsic factors such as naturally low densities and population size, longevity, hermaphroditic reproductive strategy, and night-time dormancy enhance the species’ vulnerability to exploitation. Extrinsic factors such as a lack of appropriate and enforced management actions (including Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated [IUU] fishing) and unchecked harvest of juveniles for grow-out operations result in unsustainable fishing operations, while habitat loss is likely decreasing the ability of populations to recover even in areas where the species has enforced protection because of its close association with coral reef habitat, which is impacted by degradation processes related to climate change.
The susceptibility to overfishing is enhanced by several factors such as: (1) the bulk of the fishery for live fish export (the major trade in the species) is located in the southwest Philippines and Indonesia, two large areas where the species is not adequately managed for sustainability and that make up a large portion of the species' range and global population; (2) much of the export fishery is selective for juvenile, “plate-sized” fish as these are the preferred size by consumers and gain high prices (the species is one of the two top-priced species in the live fish trade), making them highly profitable for traders; (3) uncontrolled and heavy fishing for juvenile fish of a range of sizes for grow-out (from just post-settlement to several years of age) has removed hundreds of thousands of individuals from Indonesia (over multiple years) (inferred from Mujiyanto et al. 2020, Arieta 2022) despite regulations to help safeguard the species, these are generally not well enforced and pressures for young for grow-out are set to continue or increase; (4) illegal international trade occurs especially on fish carrier vessels which are poorly controlled, e.g., between Indonesia and Hong Kong, Philippines and Malaysia and out of Malaysia and Philippines. Illegal cross-border trade also occurs between the southwest Philippines and Malaysia (Chen and Justin 2009, Poh and Fanning 2012, Wu and Sadovy de Mitcheson 2016, BFAR 2017, Kindsvater et al. 2017, Sadovy de Mitcheson et al. 2017, Hau and Sadovy de Mitcheson 2023); 5) indiscriminate capture in non-selective gears, notably gill nets, in small scale fisheries in developing countries in the Indian Ocean; 6) susceptibility of sleeping fish in coral crevices to selective spear fishery at night (Sadovy et al. 2003); and 7) uncontrolled domestic use remains a threat in some countries.
There is concern that the increased move to juvenile fisheries (taking juveniles of a range of sizes for grow-out in cages) is placing growing pressure on the species and is occurring in areas where few adults are recorded in underwater surveys. The legal trade in capture-based cultured fish was introduced in 2017 in Indonesia, the only legal exporter of the species under CITES, and as of 2024, all export trade is in fish caught for grow-out which have not been assessed (as required under CITES), for a sustainable export quota; grow-out fish are also illegally exported from the Philippines because the non-detriment find (NDF) does not support exports (Hau and Sadovy de Mitcheson 2023).
