Crayfish from the clear lagoon waters of the Great Barrier Reef.

Panulirus ornatus has a wide geographical range in the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and KwaZulu-Natal in the west to Japan and Fiji in the east.These lobsters can be found at shallow depths, typically no deeper than 50 m.[citation needed] In most parts of its range, the lobster is netted or speared, while in Northeast Australia, a commercial fishery has existed since 1966 and the harvesting of the species is regulated by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.] The species now also occurs in the Mediterranean, having invaded as a Lessepsian migrant through the Suez Canal.