An understanding of a fishery species’ life history and biology is crucial in facilitating effective management. The ocean perch (Helicolenus percoides) is a common reef-dwelling, deep water species found in southern Australian and New Zealand waters. Within Tasmanian offshore waters, H. percoides is the most caught species by recreational anglers, primarily as a non-target bycatch species with the majority of individuals not retained. However, due to the depleted status of many prized offshore species such as jackass morwong and striped trumpeter, the retention of alternative species such as H. percoides has been promoted within recreational fisheries. Promoting alternative species to alleviate fishing pressure on overexploited species is common in recreational fisheries across Australia. Despite the endorsement of H. percoides, the biological traits of the species are yet to be characterised in Tasmanian waters, with previous research on this species in Australian waters undertaken in 1988 and 1993. This provides an opportunity to investigate the biology and life history of H. percoides prior to unsustainable levels of exploitation in Tasmanian waters. A total of 1250 Helicolenus percoides were collected monthly between October 2023 and May 2025 from various sites on the east coast of Tasmania. While the growth of females and males was significantly different, with males, on average, reaching larger sizes at a given age, females attained a slightly larger maximum size than males (327 vs 324mm) and were longer lived compared to males (25.8 vs 18.8 years). Elevated GSI values and the increased prevalence of mature males and females in April/May and August-Nov, respectively, indicates that mating (fertilisation) occurs in late autumn and females “birth” developed larvae between late winter to mid-spring. This corresponds to the viviparous reproductive strategy of Helicolenus species, including H. percoides in NZ. Determining the age, growth and reproductive dynamics of H. percoides provides key life history information to inform sustainable and proactive management controls for this species in Tasmanian waters. This is crucial as community perceptions on retention continue to shift, potentially resulting in further exploitation within recreational fisheries especially.