Dear everyone,
Next time you find yourself in a grocery store, go look at the freezer section and the fish counter, and see if they have Orange Roughy. If you don’t see it, that’s good. Don’t ask for it, or they’ll think you want it.
If you do see it, though, talk to someone in charge. Tell them you want them to stop carrying Orange Roughy because it is being over-fished. They will wonder why you care; don’t let this bother you. You can suggest that they carry trout instead, because it’s about the same, flavor and texture-wise. The same goes for a restaurant with Orange Roughy on the menu. You might talk to the chef or the restaurant owner.
That’s all. If you want, you can tell me you did it, and it will brighten my day.
The Orange Roughy is a member of the Slimehead family, and considered a food fish despite its unappetizing extraction. They live in family groups, and can live to be about 150 years old. When they get fished, a whole family line will disappear. You don’t want to eat an old fish because they sequester toxins and heavy metals, but additionally, given their social structure, eating one is like walking into a family reunion and eating someone’s grandmother.
The Orange Roughy doesn’t reproduce quickly or often, and they lay a lot fewer eggs than other kinds of fish. Too many of them are currently fished, and they are not replacing their population numbers fast enough to keep up. Eating one is the equivalent of eating 50 or 100 of a fast-reproducing fish. There’s a lot we don’t know about them. Maybe they’re intelligent. Who knows?
So don’t eat them, and ask other people not to, either.
Go out and do the world a favor!
Happy holidays everyone,
Erica
P.S. More natural history facts and information on the Orange Roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) here and here.
P.P.S. Start eating sustainable seafood with the help of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s searchable guide: http://www.seafoodwatch.org/
Header image: Faroe stamp 251 orange roughy (hoplostethus atlanticus). Artist: Astrid Andreasen.