The role of mesophotic reefs (30 – 150m depth) as potential refugia for reef fishes is a critical uncertainty in fisheries management, especially where fishing gear or market demands limit operational zones to shallow reefs. In Tasmania, the most important commercially targeted reef fishes are sold for the live fish trade, leading fishers to limit their operation range to shallow reefs to avoid fish suffering from barotrauma. Here we assessed the potential utilisation of depth refugia (>30m) of three species: the banded morwong (Chirodactylus spectabilis), bluethroat wrasse (Notolabrus tetricus), and purple wrasse (Notolabrus fucicola) with stereo-video cameras using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) across a depth gradient from 3 – 80m. On average, C. spectabilis and N. tetricus had similar or greater biomass between 30m and 40m compared to adjacent shallow reef. In contrast, N. fucicola was unlikely to be protected by depth. Additionally, length frequencies of C. spectabilis were significantly different between shallow (< 30m) and deep reefs (>30m), with the number of individuals above the maximum fishery size limit increasing by 2.7-fold at refuge depths. These results suggest that depth may confer differing levels of protection among species, providing important insight for fisheries monitoring and management.