Gilgies are found throughout a biogeographically isolated region of the coastal south of Western Australia and are significant in the ecology of aquatic systems of that bioregion.

Family groups (moieties) would establish temporary claim to territory and lay fishtraps and use scoops to gather marron and jilgi.

Some tribes travelled great distances to join the hunt and each indigenous group carried unique and particular oral traditions regarding this practice.

[4] In Western Australia, recreational fishing (marroning) includes gilgies in the catch, but it is not considered to be a commercial species.

It lives in complex and narrow environments, such as silty river beds between fallen trees, feeding on decaying organic matter and receiving protection from predation.

Their conservation is that of all the freshwater crayfish species of the South West, recognised as having a high degree of importance due to the long-term isolation of the bioregion.

The species is assumed to have an integral role, through the consumption of decaying organic matter, in the ecology of its region and contributing to the biodiversity.