Species in the news: Orange Roughy

Orange Roughy

Orange roughy is a valuable commercial species. These fish are slow-growing, and long-lived. The main orange roughy fisheries are on the Chatham Rise, and off the southeast North Island/northern South Island. Most of New Zealand's orange roughy fisheries have had large reductions in catch over the years. They are now protected by low catch limits.

Key facts:

• Orange roughy grow very slowly and live a long time. They may reach ages of over 100 years, and reach maturity at about 30 years of age. This means they have low productivity compared to “normal” fish stocks.
• Orange roughy form large and predictable aggregations, in particular on or near seamounts. This makes them vulnerable to fishing.
• The low productivity and high vulnerability of orange roughy have led to concerns about the sustainability of these fisheries.
• More details of the New Zealand orange roughy fisheries can be found in the MFish Plenary document.
• The Chatham Rise supports the largest and most persistent orange roughy fishery in the world.
• Each winter, orange roughy migrate to specific sites on the Chatham Rise, where they aggregate in large numbers to spawn.

Species Focus - Orange Roughy

Species Overview - Orange Roughy

Review of Sustainability Measures for the 2007-08 Fishing Year
This page includes links to the Ministry's Initial Position Papers on Orange Roughy fisheries

Press Releases

Minister announces reduction in orange roughy catch (September 2006)
Orange roughy a New Zealand success story (December 2003)