Though no change in the diet is seen between sex and depth, a change in diet occurs with maturity of the fish. When the fish are young, most of their diet is made up of small crustaceans, and as the individuals mature, they start to consume larger crustaceans and small fish. When reaching maturity, they consume larger fish and the leftover fish from predators and commercial fishing. Mature skates no longer eat crustaceans that once were the majority their diet when they were younger. This change of diet is also seen in the skate species "Sympterygia acuta," which follows a very similar diet pattern to New Zealand smooth skate.