Named after the naturalist John Ray. Not the ray fish. It is a fish named for a person, not for what it is. Ray's bream is a deep-bodied, silver fish with large eyes and a deeply forked tail. The compressed shape makes it look almost two-dimensional when facing a predator head-on. A silver disk in the water column. It is barely visible when viewed from the front. A fish that disappears when looked at from the wrong angle. Despite its common name, it is not a true bream. It belongs to the pomfret family. This is a group of open-water fish that form large schools in temperate and tropical waters worldwide. Large eyes detect prey in low light. It feeds near the surface at night on small fish, squid and crustaceans. Then it retreats to deeper water during the day. A fish that works the night shift. In New Zealand waters, Ray's bream is found around the North and South Islands. Its range extends from Northland to Otago. It is most common off the east coast of both islands. And around the Chatham Rise. Recreational fishers sometimes catch them by accident while fishing for other species. They put up a good fight on light tackle. A bycatch that fights back. Populations are considered stable across most of the global range. In New Zealand, Ray's bream is caught as bycatch in hoki and other mid-water fisheries. No species-specific stock assessment exists. Better data collection is needed to ensure sustainable harvest levels. A silver disk with a forked tail. It feeds at night near the surface. It is a bycatch species that deserves better data. The net comes up. The silver disk flops on the deck. The fisher looks at it. Shrugs. Tosses it back. The disk sinks, silver fading into the dark. It swims away, if it is lucky. Most are not. In Māori tradition, Ray's Bream has no widely recorded name. This is likely because it was grouped with other pelagic species or overlooked due to its status as bycatch. It inhabits the open ocean waters that were less accessible to traditional coastal fishing methods. Today it is known primarily through commercial bycatch data. Mid-water trawl crews are its main observers. The species remains a distant part of the marine ecosystem. Mana whenua observe these offshore environments with interest. The health of these waters is linked to broader oceanic systems.