31 July 2025
Orange roughy has been back in the media recently, as the East and South Chatham Rise (ESCR) fishery once again has question marks over its stock status. This is a sub-stock of the larger ORH 3B fishery that covers the South Island’s east coast from Cook Strait round to Fiordland and into the Sub-Antarctic.
Among a number of fish species in its latest sustainability round, Fisheries New Zealand (FNZ) is reviewing the catch limits for the ORH 3B ESCR fishery for the fishing year starting in October.
FNZ first option is to reduce the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) on the East and South Chatham Rise by 35 percent; option two would cut the allowable catch by 69 percent; and option three would close East and South Chatham Rise for orange roughy fishing.
Sealord supports a cut of 69% as a cautious approach to allow time for orange roughy to move back into this fishery as fishing activity decreases and to collect more data while the stock rebuilds.
The Government sets catch limits appropriate to the biology of each species, for example for hoki it is 10% of the original biomass and for orange roughy it is less than 4%. In other words, out of every 100 fish only 3 orange roughy can be caught.
The species is a slow growing fish which can live to over 150 years. Sealord’s Marine Science Manager Charles Heaphy says some commentary has made out orange roughy stocks are collapsing, and the species shouldn’t be fished because of its age and slow growth. He says this is not the case.
Fish stocks go up and down for several reasons including reproduction success and growth in response to climate. Stocks are constantly measured, including through acoustic surveys of biomass. These are undertaken on industry vessels, with the data interpreted by independent scientists. Charles says monitoring has shown that orange roughy numbers in the East and South Chatham Rise have reduced more than expected, and steps are being taken to turn that around.
“This is fisheries management in action. There is an extra step in the Fisheries Act that says if you think you are below 20% of the virgin biomass you’ve got to be really, really cautious and that’s the situation we are at now,” he says.
“We are aware that these older long-lived fish require special management and that’s why all these safeguards are built into New Zealand’s fisheries management system. Stocks go up and down, and for these slow-growing species we know that if we did not catch them, they are still down there somewhere.”
Charles says most other orange roughy stocks are healthy.
According to MPI data, the 3B Puysegur area in Southland is fished every year since it re-opened and was last estimated to be at 49% of its original biomass or numbers. The Sub Antarctic roughy 3B is not fished as much due to its distance, and the North West Chatham Rise is also within its target management range. Catch in this area has declined, because fish have nearly all moved into closed areas which are not fished.
