Available wild-caught; it is a bottom-dwelling marine fish that occurs from Brisbane south to Perth, including Bass Strait and around the Tasmanian coast, on the continental shelf and upper slope from shallow waters to depths of between 10 and 400m often near reefs or rocky bottoms, with smaller fish found near the coasts of Victoria and Tasmania.
It is mainly caught off south-eastern Australia by demersal trawl, with minor catches in the Great Australian Bight. It is also caught off NSW by traps and droplines.
Similar to Grey Morwong but more greyish-white rather than blue, and with a lack of distinctive colouring around the eyes. King Morwong can be distinguished from Jackass by its dark band on the outer upper half of the pectoral fin. Jackass Morwong, and the closely related but far less common King Morwong, are usually sold under the marketing name ‘Morwong’.