Facts: The Orange Roughy

The orange ruffie inhabits the cold, deep ocean and is one of the longest lived fish species known. These fish are distributed globally. They grow and mature slowly. They don't reproduce until they are at least 20 years old and are capable of living around 150 years. Their ear bone is used to estimate their age. They are typically found near the seafloor in ocean depths of 1300 to 5900 ft on continental slopes and seamounts. They often gather in large groups. In the past few decades, fishing by bottom trawling has expanded to their deep water habitat, making them one of the world's deepest fish species. Because of their slow life cycle, this fishing has caused population declines, making them vulnerable to extinction. Many smaller fisheries have had to close down because of depleted stocks. Trawling for this species also negatively impacts the other species that live in their habitat, like slow growing corals. Orange ruffie feed on crustaceans, small fish, and squid. They are preyed on by animals like sperm whales and deep sea sharks. Each year, orange ruffie form large spawning aggregations to shed eggs and sperm into the water. They are synchronous spawners. Females rarely produce more than 90,000 eggs. The eggs are buoyant for some time before sinking to the bottom and hatching. For the first four years of their life, orange ruffie grow about 1 inch per year. Adults are typically between 14 to 18 inches in size. Females grow larger than males. Because of their longevity, orange ruffie naturally accumulate heavy metals like mercury. For more marine facts, click the SUBSCRIBE button!!