Australia country information

Common names: Deep sea perch, Deep-sea perch, Orange roughy
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: abundant (always seen in some numbers) | Ref: Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve, 1993
Importance: commercial | Ref: Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve, 1993
Aquaculture: never/rarely | Ref: Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve, 1993
Regulations: restricted | Ref: Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve, 1993
Uses: no uses
Comments: Inhabit waters from 700 m to at least 1400 m, on the continental shelf slope between Port Stephens in New South Wales and Cape Naturaliste in Western Australia. They are also found on the South Tasman Rise, Cascade Plateau and Lord Howe Rise (Ref. 6390). The stock structure of orange roughy in Australian waters remains uncertain (Ref. 27081). Based on genetic studies, a single population exists, but biological studies imply the existence of separate stocks. Commercial fishery: Orange roughy were first recorded in Australian waters in trawl surveys off New South Wales conducted in 1972. The first promising catches were taken off Tasmania in 1981 by the research vessell Challenger, but it was not until 1986 that a large (non-spawning) aggregation was discovered off western Tasmania. From 1986 until the discovery of the spawning aggregation off St. Helens in 1989, the fishery was largely based on non-spawning aggregations and small catches from the dispersed population. Orange roughy are caught in the South East Fishery and, to a much lesser extent, in the Great Australian Bight Trawl Fishery, mainly in depths of 800-1200 m. The bulk of the catch is taken off eastern and southern Tasmania. The few attempts to catch orange roughy north of the South East Fishery area have proved largely unsuccessful, although small catches have been made off Port Stephens (Ref. 27024). Commercial fisheries were based primarily on spawning and non-spawning aggregations of adult fish over 30 cm in length. Most fish in catches from the Cascade Plateau are 35-50 cm long (average 42 cm) with an average weight of 1-2 kg, whereas those from around Tasmania and the Great Australian Bight are 30-46 cm (average 36 cm). The aggregations tend to be highly localised. The 'Hill' east of St. Helens supports a major fishery and minor aggregations, also of spawning fish, have been fished in the Great Australian Bight and off southern Tasmania. Non-spawning aggregations have so far been found on the Cascade Plateau; at Port Davey, Maatsuyker and Pedra Branca (southern Tasmania); off Sandy Cape (western Tasmania); off Beachport, Kangaroo Island and Port Lincoln (South Australia); and off Albany (Western Australia). The orange roughy catch is sold as frozen, deep-skinned, boned fillets. Most is exported. Orange roughy oil has been used both as lubricant and in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical, leather, and textile industries. Resource status: The Australian orange roughy fishery has developed relatively recently and the status of the resource as of 1993, was uncertain (Ref. 27083). Available evidence suggests that the long-term sustainable yield is low as orange roughy have a low fecundity, slow growth and a long life. The history of the New Zealand fishery, which has been operating since 1979, supports this view. An acoustic estimate of the St Helens spawning aggregation calculated the virgin biomass as 110,000 t. No biomass estimates (as of 1993), were available elsewhere in this fishery. As of 1993, the maximum sustainable yield estimates for the South East Fishery were in the order of thousands of t rather than tens of thousands.
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html
National Fisheries Authority: https://www.csiro.au/
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve, 1993
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Beryciformes (Sawbellies) > Trachichthyidae (Slimeheads)
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Большеголов атлантический (=берикс исландский), Hoplostète orange, Reloj anaranjado, ... more

Main reference

Maul, G.E. 1986. (Ref. 4784)
References | Biblio | Coordinator : Moore, Jon A. | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 75.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 36696); common length : 40.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4181); max. published weight: 7.0 kg (Ref. 36697); max. reported age: 149 years (Ref. 3680)

Length at first maturity
L_m 37.0, range 18 - 32.5 cm

Environment

Marine; bathypelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 180 - 1809 m (Ref. 6390), usually 400 - 900 m (Ref. 3583)

Climate / Range

Deep-water; 3°C - 9°C (Ref. 36694), preferred 19°C (Ref. 107945); 65°N - 56°S, 84°W - 168°W

Distribution

Western Atlantic: Gulf of Maine (Ref. 4784) [in error according to Moore (Fishes of the Gulf of Maine, in press), should be off northern Nova Scotia]. Eastern Atlantic: Iceland to Morocco; Walvis Bay, Namibia to off Durban, South Africa. Indo-Pacific: south-central Indian Ocean and New Zealand. Eastern Pacific: Chile (Ref. 27363). Several stocks may exist as suggested by distinct spawning sites and seasons.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 4 - 6; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15-19; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 10 - 12. Bright brick-red in color, mouth and gill cavity bluish black (Ref. 4181). Ventral scutes: 19-25.

Inhabits deep, cold waters over steep continental slopes, ocean ridges and sea-mounts. Shallow range of usual occurrence from Ref. 27121. Appears to be dispersed over both rough bottoms and steep, rough grounds where it feeds on crustaceans and fish. In New Zealand, the main prey include mesopelagic and benthopelagic prawns, fish, and squid, with other organisms such as mysids, amphipods and euphausiids occasionally being important (Ref. 9072). Juveniles feed mainly on crustaceans (Ref. 27075, 27076). Grows very slowly and is one of the longest lived fish species known. Based on parasite and trace-element analyses, orange roughy is a sedentary species with little movement between fish-management zones (Ref. 27089). Little is known of the larvae and juveniles which are probably confined to deep water (Ref. 27088). The fishery targets sporadically formed dense spawning and non-spawning aggregations. Marketed fresh and frozen; eaten steamed, fried, microwaved and baked (Ref. 9988). Because of severe overfishing the species has been listed as threatened by the Australian Government in 2006.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial

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Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD₅₀ = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
4.3 ±0.1 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (K=0.04-0.06; tm=5-33; tmax=140; Fec=10,000)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
High to very high vulnerability (73 of 100)

Price category (Ref. 80766)
Medium

Hoplostethus atlanticus Collett, 1889