The red bigeye takes about three years to sexually mature and can live for at least nine years in the wild. There is only limited information available on the species, however, catch information suggests a sharp decline from 1992 to 1993, meaning a decline in the stock level and current fishing practices are likely to reduce stock.
Bottom gill netting will cause significant damage to threaten endangered, threatened, protected (ETP) species. The discard rate of this fishery is low. Negative ecosystem changes caused by the fishery are unlikely. This fishery may affect the sea bed.
A basic management framework is established throughout China, and in particular Hong Kong. Management is considered marginally effective. Compliance and enforcement measures are not always effective and law enforcement is believed to have not achieved good results due to the lack of information on management procedures. There are some measures in place (mainly monitoring actions) to protect ETP species, in particular marine mammals. Some measures are in place to avoid unwanted catches, such as minimum allowed mesh sizes. Several protected areas have been established in Hong Kong waters, however fishing is banned from just less than 0.01% of the waters. But there is a trend to strengthen regulations on illegal unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) issues.