School sharks are distributed across the continental shelf of New Zealand, generally being inshore in summer and offshore in winter. They extend in smaller numbers near the seafloor down the upper continental slope, to at least 600m. The capture of school sharks by tuna longliners shows that their distribution extends well offshore, up to 350km off the South Island, and 750km off northern New Zealand towards the Kermadec Islands. They feed predominantly on small fish and cephalopods (octopus and squid).

Growth rates have not been estimated for New Zealand fish, but in Australia and South America school sharks are slow growing and long-lived (Grant et al., 1979; Olsen, 1984; Peres and Vooren, 1991). They are difficult to age by conventional methods, but up to 45 vertebral rings can be counted. Growth is fastest for the first few years, slows appreciably between 5 and 15 years, and is negligible at older ages, particularly after 20. Results from an Australian long-term tag recovery suggest a maximum age of at least 50 years. Age at maturity has been estimated at 12–17 years for males and 13 to 15 years for females (Francis and Mulligan, 1998). The size range of commercially caught maturing and adult school shark is 90–170cm, with an average within 110–130cm, which varies with area, season and depth.

Breeding is not annual; it has generally been assumed to be biennial, but recent work on a Brazilian stock suggests that females have a 3-year cycle (Peres and Vooren, 1991). Fertility increases from 5–10 pups for small females to over 40 in the largest. Mating is believed to occur in deep water, probably in winter. Release of pups occurs during spring and early summer (November-January), apparently earlier in the north of the country than in the south. Nursery grounds include harbours, shallow bays and sheltered coasts. The pups remain in the shallow nursery grounds during their first one or two years and subsequently disperse across the shelf. The geographic location of the most important pupping and nursery grounds in New Zealand is not known.

New Zealand tagging studies have shown that school shark may move considerable distances, including trans-Tasman migrations.