No specific management or conservation plans are known to exist for this species and it must be regarded as potentially under threat from continuing tropical multi-species fisheries. Marine reserves of appropriate size and locality could protect this species, given the pattern of residency shown by Randall (1977). Its distribution in clear waters over coral reefs makes this species ideal for non-consumptive use in the form of tourism diving, as has been shown in a preliminary analysis by Anderson and Ahmed (1993).