The species does not show traits that make it particularly vulnerable to fishing practices. A licensing scheme seems to exist in China, however it is not known if it prevents overfishing in any way. The stock is not well-monitored with only limited information available on the species.
Bottom long lining in Hong Kong waters likely has a detrimental effect on some endangered, threatened, protected (ETP) species, in particular elasmobranchs (e.g. sharks and rays). The discard rate of the fishery in Asia is said to be low because the vast majority of the catch is marketable and/ or used as “trash fish” (fish meal production, fish feed etc.) Nemipterus virgatus occurs at depths of 18-220m. Therefore, the used longline gear might impact shallow water habitats such as corals and seagrasses, as well as deeper benthic communities such as cold-water corals.
A basic management framework is established throughout China, and in particular in Hong Kong. Management is considered marginally effective. Compliance and enforcement measures are not always effective and enforcement has failed to achieve 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 for avoiding unwanted catches, such as on 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 regulation on unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU).