Fish of the Year 2025: A win for Blobfish and deep sea awareness

All hail King Blobfish! The annual Fish of the Year 2025 competition came to a dramatic close yesterday, 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.  

"We and the people of New Zealand had 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!,” say More FM Drive hosts Sarah and Flynny.

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 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.”

Fish of the Year makes a splash nationwide

5,583 New Zealanders voted in Fish of the Year 2025, up from 1,021 in 2024. 

“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.”

“We would like to thank the organisations who backed a fish, and to those that help fund this competition,  particularly the Hauraki Gulf Forum and Lotteries New Zealand,”  says Jones.

Conservation challenges: out of sight, but increasingly visible

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.”

Fish of the Year 2025 - Top Ten Fish

1. Blobfish - 1286 votes

2. Orange roughy - 1009 votes

3. Longfin eel / Tuna - 646 votes

4. Whale shark - 596 votes

5. Big-bellied seahorse / Manaia - 386 votes

6. Great white shark / Mangō taniwha - 344 votes

7. Lamprey / Piharau - 312 votes

8. Spine-tailed devil ray / Whai rahi - 284 votes

9. Basking shark  / Reremai - 280 votes

10. Blue cod / Rāwaru - 260 votes