The other roughy – Darwin’s Roughy

This rare fish was caught off Eden in 200m of water and is believed to be a Darwin’s Roughy (Gephyroberyx darwinii). Other common names include Darwin’s Slimehead and the Finescale Roughy. The name suggests it was named by Charles Darwin but in fact it was named by Johnson in 1886. Literature suggests that it is “benthopelagic” meaning that it lives near the seafloor but not right on it. It is widespread living in 200-1,000m throughout eastern, northern and western Australia, New Zealand as well as in the Indian Ocean, SE Asia, the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. They have been commercially exploited in the Atlantic Ocean but are not in Australia.