Tiger Flathead (Platycephalus richardsoni) is endemic to Australia and distributed from northern New South Wales to western Victoria, including Tasmanian waters. This species occurs in ocean waters from northern NSW to Tasmania, at depths of 40 to 300 m. They can easily be confused with a similar species, the ‘toothy’ or ‘gold-spot’ flathead (P. aurimaculatus), which is common in the southern part of the range, especially in eastern Bass Strait (Day and Klaer 2014).

There is some evidence of regional differences in physical characteristics, growth rates and spawning periods for Tiger Flathead, but biological stock structure has not been studied using genetic techniques. A single biological stock structure is assumed for management purposes and stock status is reported at this level (Day and Klaer 2014).

Trawling for fish off NSW originally concentrated on targeting tiger flathead, and the species remains significant in recent trawl landings despite being overfished in the 1950s and 1960s (Day and Klaer 2014).

In NSW, tiger flathead are not taken in significant quantities by any other commercial fisheries, however over 20 t are estimated to be taken annually by recreational and charter boat fishers. Tiger flathead is included in the ‘flathead’ Total Allowable Catch for the Commonwealth Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery, which in 2008 was set at about 2850 t (Day and Klaer 2014).