Seafood to Avoid Orange roughy Scientific name: Hoplostethus atlanticus Other names: Deepsea perch, sea perch, slimehead (NZ), red roughy (Australia), hoplostete orange, granatbarsch (Germany), pesce arancio (Italy), beryx de nouvelle-zelande (France), rosy soldierfish (Canada) Ranking: E (Red - Worst Choice)

Icon Explanations

The main concerns with this fishery are: that years of over-fishing on the spawning grounds have decimated populations. Bottom trawling decimates sea floor benthic species assemblages and fragile seamount habitats, bulldozing the sea floor and destroying black corals, lace corals, coral trees, colourful sponge fields and long-lived bryozoans. Deepwater sharks and other non-target fish species are caught, which reduces the amount of available prey for species further up deep sea food chains such as sperm whales and giant squids. There is a bycatch of seabirds and marine mammals. Although quotas have been reduced in recent years they may not be enough. Nothing is known about roughy recruitment and model projections of rebuilding populations have not been supported by catch rate information . Most populations are now below 20% of their original unfished size with one reduced to just 3%.

The fishery assessment plenary report states: For ORH 1, "An assessment of the Mercury-Colville box in 2001 indicated that the biomass had been reduced to 10-15%Bo (compared to the assumed Bmsy of 30% Bo). In other areasÉ there is no way to determine if [the current] level of fishing is in fact sustainable or if current feature limits will avoid overexploitation of localised areas.". For ORH 3B: NW Chatham Rise Ð "the 2006 biomass was estimated to be below Bmsy at 11% (8-16%)BoÉthe probability that the stock would rebuild to 30%Bo, or even 20% Bo within 5 years is close to zero."; NE Chatham Rise Ð In 2006 assessment was carried out for three sub-areas:, Spawning box and Northeast flats: Model runs indicate that the biomass declined to a low point of 25-44%Bo in 1990-91 or 1991-92, but has subsequently increased. [But] the increaseÉappears to be driven by model assumptions about productivity, rather than recent dataÉ If lower productivity [is assumed] the current biomass is estimated to be 33-37%Bo.." NE Hills: "the biomass has been fished down to a level of about 14% Bo, but has increased slightly in the last two years in response to reductions in catches." Andes: "indicates that the biomass has been fished down and is currently estimated to be about 29%Bo. Five year projections indicated that the biomass is likely to decrease further.."; South Chatham Rise Ð "status of this stock is uncertain because of limited information available. Assessment results that indicate rebuilding over the past 15yearsÉare not supported by the CPUE data." Puysegur Ð "the point estimate of biomass from this assessment [1998] is probably below BMSY, [7%] but it is uncertain"; Other areas Ð "there was insufficient dataÉ" and "their status is unknown." ORH2A, 2B and 3A: East Cape Ð the 2003 assessment indicated that the stock was then about 24%Bo. [It] suggests that the current catch limit should allow the stock to rebuild"; East Coast North Island - "No estimates of current biomass are available..[but] biomass was likely to have reached a minimum in the mid 1990s [less than 20%Bo]. [Currently] the stock was likely to be increasing under recent catch levels but was unable to determine whether the current TACC would result in a continued rebuild of the stock.". West Coast (ORH7B): "No estimates of current biomass are available. The current stock size is most likely below Bmsy as catch rates have not increased over the last 5 years despite a large reduction in annual removals from the stock.". Challenger (ORH7A): "The assessment of this stock indicates that it is currently about one tenth of BMSY (range 7% to 14% of Bmsy" and 3% of Bo" (MFish, 2007, p480, 492, 522-524, 529, 534).

Market: Orange Roughy is one of the most valuable export fish species, worth $84 million in 2006. Previously this was $200 million. Most is exported to the USA and Australia, and some to the UK where it is reportedly used by some fast food chains as fish fillet burgers. Some is also sold in New Zealand, for example as frozen fish fillets.

Status and sustainable yield
Status: Mostly depleted stocks down to 3% Bo for Challenger; uncertain for Southern ORH 3B and exploratory ORH 1. Rebuilding of stock indicated in models are not supported by catch rate information.
Annual catch limit: Set at 13,072 tonnes in 2007-08.
Recorded catch: Reported landings of 15,502 tonnes in 2005-06, down from a peak of 54,000 tonnes in 1988-89.
Population size: Most stocks are below 20% of their unfished population size.
Stock trends: Long-term decline.

Fishing method
Method: Bottom trawling between 750 and 1200m. The main fisheries are on the Chatham Rise and Ritchie Bank off Mahia Peninsula.
Habitat Damage: Bottom trawling decimates sea floor benthic species assemblages and fragile seamount habitats, bulldozing the sea floor destroying black coral, lace corals, colourful sponge fields, long-lived bryozoans and many other invertebrate species.
Bycatch: Includes coral trees, sponges and gorgonians which have been aged at over 500 years old. A range of non-target fish species are also caught including Baxter's dogfish and basket-work eel. There is a bycatch of marine mammals and seabirds in some fisheries.
Ecological effects: In addition to the ecological effects of habitat damage which causes the loss of seamount communities, Orange Roughy is a prey species of sperm whale and giant squid, so the commercial catch also reduces the amount of available food for species further up deep sea food chains. Fishing for Orange Roughy and oreos also removes a large proportion of deep sea benthic biomass and communities.

Management
Stock assessment: Quantitative stock assessments have been carried out for most areas apart from exploratory ORH 1 and Southern ORH 3B.
Management plan: No
Quota management species: Yes, since 1986.

Biology
Distribution: The main spawning grounds around New Zealand are the Challenger Plateau, Cook Canyon, Puysegur Bank, North Chatham Rise, Ritchie Bank and East Cape at depths of between 700-1000 metres. Most are caught on the Chatham Rise where the underwater terrain is rugged and consists of hill, pinnacle and canyon seascapes.
Maximum age (years): 130-150.
Age at sexual maturity: 23-29.
Growth rate: Very slow.
Reproductive output: Low. Females carry 22,000 eggs per kilogram of body weight, which is less than 10 percent of the average for other fish species.
Age exploited: 23-29

References: Clark M (2001) Clark M (2001) Are deepwater fisheries sustainable? Ð the example of Orange Roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) in New Zealand. Fisheries research 51:123-135; Clark MR, Anderson OF, Francis RICC, Tracey OM (2000) The effects of commercial exploitation on Orange Roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) from the continental slope of the Chatham Rise, NZ from 1979 to 1997. Fisheries Research 45:217-238; Report from the Fishery Assessment Plenary, May 2007: stock assessments and yield estimates. Part 2: Hake to Paua. Science Group, Ministry of Fisheries; SeaFIC website 2004; Guidebook to New Zealand Commercial Fish Species, Revised Edition 1990, NZ Fishing Industry Board.

This page was updated on 9 November, 2007