Govind Tekale
In a remarkable turn of events, the blobfish—once labeled the “world’s ugliest animal”—has emerged victorious in New Zealand’s Fish of the Year 2025 competition. With 1,286 votes, it narrowly defeated the orange roughy by nearly 300 votes, according to the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust, which organizes the annual contest.
This year’s competition attracted unprecedented public interest, with 5,583 New Zealanders casting their votes—a substantial increase from 1,021 participants in 2024. The contest serves as a platform to raise awareness about the conservation challenges facing New Zealand’s diverse marine and freshwater ecosystems.
A Misunderstood Deep-Sea Dweller
The blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus) inhabits depths of 600 to 1,200 meters off the coasts of New Zealand and Australia. At these depths, water pressure is several dozen times higher than at sea level.
Contrary to its infamous appearance, the blobfish looks fairly normal in its natural habitat. Its gelatinous structure, which lacks a swim bladder, full skeleton, muscles, and scales, allows it to float effortlessly above the seafloor. This adaptation is crucial for conserving energy in the resource-scarce deep sea.
“Regrettably, when it is pulled up…that sudden decompression causes it to become all disfigured,” explains Konrad Kurta, spokesperson for the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust.
The blobfish’s peculiar lifestyle involves patiently waiting for prey to come within reach. “It sort of sits there and waits for prey to come very close and practically walk into its mouth before it eats them,” Kurta notes. Its diet consists primarily of molluscs, crustaceans like crabs and lobsters, and sea urchins.
Despite its seemingly sluggish approach to life, the blobfish demonstrates remarkable reproductive capabilities and longevity. Females can lay up to 100,000 eggs in a single nest, which they protect until hatching. These deep-sea denizens can live up to 130 years, making them among the longest-lived fish species.
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Media Influence and Public Support
The blobfish’s path to victory wasn’t without drama. Orange roughy maintained a strong lead until halfway through the final week, when local radio personalities Sarah Gandy and Paul Flynn from More FM launched a passionate campaign for the underdog.
“We and the people of New Zealand had had enough of other fish getting all the headlines,” said the radio hosts after the win. “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!”
Conservation Implications
Of the top ten fish nominated this year, nine are considered vulnerable by conservation groups. The blobfish and orange roughy both face threats from deep-sea bottom trawling. While the blobfish is inedible, it often becomes an incidental bycatch during orange roughy fishing operations.
“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 Kim Jones, Co-Director of the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust.
Aaron Packard, spokesperson for the Environmental Law Initiative, which sponsored the orange roughy campaign, maintained good humor about coming in second: “We have no bloblem with the blobfish winning. It’s still a win for deep sea ecosystems, and raises awareness about the environmental impacts of destructive bottom trawling.”
New Zealand is responsible for approximately 80% of the global orange roughy catch, and environmental organizations regularly advocate for fishing restrictions due to the destructive effects of bottom trawling on deep-sea ecosystems.
The Final Tally
The complete top ten results from the Fish of the Year 2025 competition:
- Blobfish – 1,286 votes
- Orange roughy – 1,009 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
The blobfish’s unlikely victory echoes its previous brush with fame when it was named the “world’s ugliest animal” in 2013 by the Ugly Animal Preservation Society. That distinction came after an online poll to select a mascot for the organization, which focuses on raising awareness for endangered animals that lack conventional aesthetic appeal.
For the blobfish, this new title represents a shift from ridicule to recognition—and potentially increased protection for the deep-sea environments critical to its survival.
Blobfish FAQ: Winner of New Zealand’s Fish of the Year 2025
What is a blobfish and why does it look so strange?
The blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus) is a deep-sea fish that lives 600-1,200 meters below the ocean surface off the coasts of New Zealand and Australia. It looks normal in its deep-sea home, but becomes disfigured when brought to the surface. The dramatic pressure change (from dozens of times higher than sea level to regular atmospheric pressure) causes its gelatinous body to lose shape, giving it the “blob-like” appearance that earned its unfortunate reputation.
How did the blobfish win Fish of the Year in New Zealand?
The blobfish won by receiving 1,286 votes in a public competition organized by the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust. It beat the orange roughy by nearly 300 votes. Local radio hosts Sarah Gandy and Paul Flynn from More FM helped turn the tide with a passionate campaign during the final week, rallying listeners to support the underdog blobfish.
What’s special about the blobfish’s biology?
The blobfish has evolved unique adaptations for deep-sea living. It lacks a swim bladder, full skeleton, muscles, and scales. Instead, its gelatinous body is slightly less dense than water, allowing it to float just above the seafloor without expending much energy. It can live up to 130 years, and females lay up to 100,000 eggs in a single nest, which they guard until hatching.
What conservation issues does the blobfish face?
Though the blobfish is inedible, it often becomes bycatch during deep-sea trawling operations targeting fish like orange roughy. Bottom trawling damages seafloor habitats and catches many non-target species. While the blobfish’s exact conservation status is unknown due to limited research, it’s considered vulnerable along with many other deep-sea species.
What other fish competed in New Zealand’s Fish of the Year 2025?
The top contenders included orange roughy (2nd place), longfin eel/tuna (3rd), whale shark (4th), big-bellied seahorse/manaia (5th), great white shark/mangō taniwha (6th), lamprey/piharau (7th), spine-tailed devil ray/whai rahi (8th), basking shark/reremai (9th), and blue cod/rāwaru (10th). Nine of these ten species are considered vulnerable by conservation groups.
Wasn’t the blobfish once called the “world’s ugliest animal”?
Yes! In 2013, the blobfish was named the “world’s ugliest animal” in an online poll by the Ugly Animal Preservation Society. This organization uses humor to raise awareness for endangered animals that lack conventional beauty. The blobfish’s journey from “world’s ugliest” to “Fish of the Year” represents a shift from ridicule to recognition of its unique adaptations and conservation needs.
Why does New Zealand hold a Fish of the Year contest?
The Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust organizes this annual competition to raise awareness about New Zealand’s diverse marine and freshwater ecosystems and the conservation challenges they face. This year’s contest attracted 5,583 voters, a significant increase from 1,021 in 2024, showing growing public interest in marine conservation issues.
How does the orange roughy fishing industry affect the blobfish?
New Zealand is responsible for about 80% of the global orange roughy catch. The bottom trawling method used to catch orange roughy damages seafloor habitats and often results in blobfish being caught as bycatch. As Aaron Packard from the Environmental Law Initiative noted, better management of orange roughy fishing would also benefit the blobfish, as they share the same deep-sea environment.
