Orange Roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vertebrate > bony fish (Actinopterygii) > Fish |
| Red List Status: | (Not Relevant) [(not listed)(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Hoplostethus atlanticus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Collett, 1889 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | (not listed) |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Vulnerable in Europe but population trend is unknown and hasn't been assessed since 2014. Redlist status in England is unknown. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Status review required |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | This species would not benefit from untargeted management |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 1. Taxonomy established |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Unknown |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Highly vulnerable to overfishing. They are slow growing and late maturing so recovery will be slow and the advice from ICES is that it is not possible to manage a sustainable fishery for this species. Pressures outside of England Trawling bycatch. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Increase understanding of the biology of orange roughy including critical life stages from spawning to recruitment including genetics and subsequent stock structure. Input findings to direct fishery management.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Increased mapping and improved protection of orange habitat notably the habitats associated with carbonate mounds within or immediately adjacent to English waters particularly in the south west.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Pressure mitigation
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites: South west
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Update England Red List status
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.