Orange Roughy or Hoplostethus atlanticus has a few names including Red Roughy or Deep Sea Perch. This fish is often found in cold waters at very deep levels, even up to 1,800 meters deep! The Orange Roughy has an amazingly long lifespan. It can live up to 150 years old! Even though they can be one of the oldest fish in the ocean it will only grows to about 16" (40cm) long and 11lbs in weight.
The Orange Roughy was first discovered in the early 1970's in New Zealand. To this day New Zealand remains the worlds main suppler of Orange Roughy. They are often a little more pricey then some fish and are comparable in taste to the Orea Dory. Often bright red while it is alive, this deep sea fish is said to fade to an orangish yellow after it dies. They have a large round head and huge eyes which they use to search the depths of the ocean for mysid shrimp, euphausiids, amphipods, squid and other small fish.
The Orange Roughy fish will release fertilized eggs into the water that will rise to about 200 meters. As the fish hatch and begin to develop they will slowly descend into deeper water where they will live out their lives. It reaches sexual maturity in almost 25 years so this combined with the fact that Orange Roughy is one of the most popular fishes to eat makes this fish very susceptible to overfishing. Know for its firm flesh with a very mild flavor this fish is normally filleted and served fresh or frozen. If you have a recipe or tips for catching the deep sea Orange Roughy please leave them below in the comments...
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