Odax pullus is the name of a butterfish that feeds on kelp in shallow water around New Zealand. These strange creatures do not take bait, and a few are gill-netted in shallow rocky areas at the southern end of the islands. Otherwise, spearfishing is the only way to take them. All members of this family are protogynous hermaphrodites, which means that they all begin life as females and later change sex to become males. Each male establishes a territory and during the late winter breeding season each male courts and spawns with the females within his area. These butterfish stay very close to shore, in water one or two meters deep. Adults range into water up to eight meters deep, and some large males roam into water as much as twenty meters deep.