The annual Fish of the Year 2025 competition came to a dramatic close on March 18, with deep-sea rivals orange roughy and blobfish campaigning hard right up to the last minute. The blobfish emerged victorious over orange roughy by nearly 300 votes.
Orange roughy had a strong start and maintained a healthy lead until halfway through the final week of campaigning. But everything changed when More FM threw their weight behind the blobfish.
More FM Drive hosts Sarah and Flynny said they and the people of New Zealand had enough of other fish getting all the headlines.
“The blobfish had been sitting patiently on the ocean floor, mouth open waiting for the next mollusc to come through to eat. He has been bullied his whole life and we thought, ‘Stuff this, it’s time for the blobfish to have his moment in the sun’, and what a glorious moment it is!”
The Mountains to Sea website says blobfish have become popular for their distinct appearance and their ability to live at great depths ranging from 600 to 1200 metres. The pressure at this depth can be 60 to 120 times more than that at sea level, and they have evolved unique anatomy to cope.
They don’t have a swim bladder, full skeleton, muscles or scales. Instead, their bodies are made up of a blob-like substance with a density slightly lower than water allowing them to float above the seafloor. Their feeding strategy is also unique, as the blobfish will sit on the seafloor and wait for crustaceans, molluscs, and urchins to walk into their mouths.
Blobfish are found swimming off the coast of New Zealand, mainland Australia and Tasmania, where they grow slowly and can live up to 130 years. Female blobfish can lay 100,000 eggs in a single nest, usually in rocky areas on top of deep ocean platforms where the water is warmer. Ever watchful parents, they then hover over their eggs until they hatch.
Swimmer-up orange roughy is a deep-sea fish, too. Despite gaining late endorsements from Forest & Bird and Greenpeace Aotearoa, it wasn’t enough to turn the tide.
Official orange roughy sponsor Environmental Law Initiative was upbeat after running a strong campaign.
“We have no bloblem with the blobfish winning,” says spokesperson Aaron Packard. “It’s still a win for deep-sea ecosystems, and raises awareness about the environmental impacts of destructive bottom trawling.”
Renowned for its unfortunate frown and decidedly squishy disposition when pulled from the depths, New Zealanders have shown they truly believe that blob is beautiful.
Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust Co-Director Kim Jones says 5,583 New Zealanders voted in Fish of the Year 2025, up from 1,021 in 2024.
Jones says it was, “a battle of the deep sea forget-me-nots. A battle of two quirky deep sea critters, with the blobfish’s unconventional beauty helping get voters over the line.
“More than ten thousand Kiwis visited the website to learn about freshwater and marine fish that call our waters home,” says Jones.
“We’re absolutely thrilled New Zealanders have taken such an interest in our native fish, and the conservation challenges affecting them.”
Jones thanked the organisations who backed a fish, and all those that helped fund the competition, particularly the Hauraki Gulf Forum and Lotteries New Zealand.
Of the top ten Fish of the Year nominees, nine are considered vulnerable by conservation groups, including the blobfish.
“In some ways, it was fitting blobfish and orange roughy were close at the end. They both live in deep-sea environments close to New Zealand, and the blobfish is often incidentally caught during bottom trawling for orange roughy,” says Jones.
“While the blobfish’s exact conservation status is unknown, orange roughy populations are struggling. Carefully managing orange roughy and its habitat will benefit the blobfish, too.”
Full results: Fish of the Year 2025
- Blobfish – 1286 votes
- Orange roughy – 1009 votes
- Longfin eel / Tuna – 646 votes
- Whale shark – 596 votes
- Big-bellied seahorse / Manaia – 386 votes
- Great white shark / Mangō taniwha – 344 votes
- Lamprey / Piharau – 312 votes
- Spine-tailed devil ray / Whai rahi – 284 votes
- Basking shark / Reremai – 280 votes
- Blue cod / Rāwaru – 260 votes
