Blobfish, once dubbed 'world's ugliest animal,' named New Zealand's Fish of the Year

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The blobfish, once crowned "world's ugliest animal," has won New Zealand's Fish of the Year 2025 competition with 1,286 votes.

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What appears as a droopy, gelatinous blob on land actually maintains a normal fish appearance in its deep-sea habitat, where water pressure is dozens of times higher than at sea level.

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The sudden decompression when brought to the surface causes the blobfish's body to become disfigured, creating its infamous appearance that went viral in 2013.

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How did this deep-sea underdog overcome its negative reputation to beat the orange roughy by nearly 300 votes?

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Local radio hosts Sarah Gandy and Paul Flynn from More FM sparked a last-minute surge in support, telling listeners the blobfish "has been bullied his whole life" and deserved "his moment in the sun."

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The blobfish's unique biology—lacking a swim bladder, full skeleton, muscles, and scales—allows it to float effortlessly above the seafloor while conserving precious energy.

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Despite their sluggish hunting style, blobfish can live up to 130 years and females lay up to 100,000 eggs in a single nest, which they protect until hatching.

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This year's Fish of the Year competition attracted a record 5,583 votes, compared to just 1,021 in 2024, showing growing public interest in marine conservation.

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Nine of the top ten fish nominated for the award are considered vulnerable by conservation groups, highlighting the threats facing New Zealand's marine ecosystems.

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Bottom trawling for fish like orange roughy often catches blobfish as unwanted bycatch, despite the blobfish being inedible to humans.

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"We have no bloblem with the blobfish winning," joked Aaron Packard from the Environmental Law Initiative, which sponsored the orange roughy campaign.

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New Zealand controls approximately 80% of the global orange roughy catch, with environmental groups regularly calling for stricter regulations on destructive fishing practices.

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Will the blobfish's new title as Fish of the Year help protect deep-sea environments from damaging human activities?

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The blobfish's journey from mockery to celebration represents an increasing recognition of all marine species' value, regardless of their appearance.

[{"selector":"#anim-d4c5279c-b2ea-4a6e-a6b0-a8f363725ad5","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-264c4404-cfed-447a-84be-b6a53976d284","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 163.36915%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":300,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a9d6bf13-1dc6-4230-b3ac-7f4c0166fc28","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a48d0a4b-5525-439a-9d56-1d0bb4d00b97","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -114.48664%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-46ca2982-e82c-4a41-938b-861f1f33ca18","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-aaeb44b9-3d50-4289-9e30-a0a3291b25b3","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":1400,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Photo Source: Mike McBride (CC BY-NC 2.0) Representative Image.

[{"selector":"#anim-58074bff-4389-4641-b7ea-df688778c145","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2d11f119-8d0b-4961-a467-931af63ea31a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1c037800-85ac-4d52-9377-fd02e3567e7b","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-114.50152%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-527030a7-6f2b-4b3b-acc1-8d8422fdf3b3","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":700,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-5dc8d6ab-ea1d-4126-83b8-e44e4f5fe8d6","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.23810%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":700,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] South Africa Imposes 10-Year Fishing Ban to Save African Penguins Learn more