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IUCN 2008: T198579A20682773
Hoplostethus mediterraneus, Silver Roughy
Assessment by: Iwamoto, T., Moore, J., Polanco Fernandez, A., Russell, B. &
McEachran, J.D.
View on www.iucnredlist.org
Citation: Iwamoto, T., Moore, J., Polanco Fernandez, A., Russell, B. & McEachran, J.D. 2015.
Hoplostethus mediterraneus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T198579A20682773.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T198579A20682773.en
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THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™
Taxonomy
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Beryciformes
Trachichthyidae
Taxon Name: Hoplostethus mediterraneus Cuvier, 1829
Synonym(s):
• Hoplostethus mediterraneus subspecies sonodae Kotlyar, 1986
• Hoplostethus mediterraneus subspecies trunovi Kotlyar, 1986
• Korsogaster nanus Parr, 1933
• Trachichthys pretiosus Lowe, 1839
• Trachichthys intermedius Hector, 1875
Regional Assessments:
• Mediterranean
• Europe
Common Name(s):
• English:
• French:
• Spanish:
Silver Roughy, Black-mouthed Alfonsin, Blackmouth Roughy, Fough Fish, Mediterranean
Sawbelly, Mediterranean Slimehead, Mediterranean Slime-head Fish, New Zealand
Sawbelly, Pink, Rosy Soldier Fish, Rough-fish, Sawbelly, Slimehead
Hoplostète Argenté, Poisson Montre
Peloj, Reloj, Reloj Mediterráneo
Taxonomic Notes:
A subspecies, Hoplostethus mediterraneus trunovi, has been reported off of Namibia (Moore in press).
Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria:
Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published:
2015
Date Assessed:
May 22, 2013
Justification:
Hoplostethus mediterraneus is widespread. It is a demersal, aggregating, commonly occurring, deepdwelling species found on the continental slope where it is associated with seamounts. It is occasionally
fished and sometimes intensively in some areas, but there are no major threats known. Trachichthyids
are potentially long-lived and typically highly susceptible to overfishing. This species is frequently taken
as bycatch in commercial trawl fisheries but is not utilized. Trawling operations may also be causing
habitat destruction. It is listed as Least Concern.
Geographic Range
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Hoplostethus mediterraneus – published in 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T198579A20682773.en
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Range Description:
Hoplostethus mediterraneus is distributed in the eastern Atlantic over the continental slope from 100950 m depth off of the African coast from Morocco south to Senegal, including the islands of Madeira,
Canaries, Azores, Cape Verde and the Great Meteor Seamount (Moore in press), and from Senegal south
to northern Angola (CAS museum records). In the region of northwest Africa, it is considered most
abundant between 600-1,000 m depth and especially around 350 m (Maurin and Quero 1982). This
species occurred in a trawl survey conducted off the coast of Namibia between the years 1992-1996
(Hamukuaya et al. 2001). The range off Namibia may include only a subspecies (Moore in press). It is
also known to range in the Mediterranean (Maurin and Quero 1982) and most recently the Adriatic
(Antolovic and Kozul 2012). It is also found in Iceland and Ireland.
In the Western North Atlantic it is distributed from 183-1,466 m depth (mostly 200-500 m) from Georges
Bank, New England south to the Caribbean, including the Corner Rise Seamounts and Bermuda, and the
Gulf of Mexico (Moore et al. 2003).
In the Greater Caribbean, it occurs in the southeastern coast of the USA, eastern Gulf of Mexico and the
Greater Antilles. There are additional records from Colombia and Venezuela. It is found between 2341,463 m in depth (Gordon and Duncan 1987, Moore 2002, Richards 2006, Kells and Carpenter 2011). It
also occurs south to Brazil.
In the Western Indian Ocean, H. mediterraneus is found in the Red Sea and off South Africa. It is also
found in western Pacific oceans (Heemstra 1986, Gordon and Duncan 1987, Moore 2002, Richards 2006,
Kells and Carpenter 2011).
Country Occurrence:
Native: Albania; Algeria; Angola (Angola); Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Aruba; Australia; Bahamas;
Barbados; Belize; Benin; Bermuda; Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba; Brazil (Trindade); Cameroon;
Canada; Cape Verde; Cayman Islands; Colombia; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Costa
Rica; Côte d'Ivoire; Croatia; Cuba; Curaçao; Cyprus; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Egypt; Equatorial
Guinea; Eritrea; France (Corsica, France (mainland)); French Guiana; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Gibraltar;
Greece; Greenland; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Guatemala; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras;
Iceland; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Jamaica; Jordan; Lebanon; Liberia; Libya; Malta; Martinique; Mauritania;
Mexico; Monaco; Montenegro; Montserrat; Morocco; Namibia; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Nigeria;
Panama; Portugal (Azores, Madeira, Portugal (mainland), Selvagens); Puerto Rico; Saint Barthélemy;
Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Martin (French part); Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Saudi
Arabia; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Sint Maarten (Dutch part); South Africa; Spain (Canary Is., Spain
(mainland)); Sudan; Suriname; Syrian Arab Republic; Togo; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; Turkey; Turks
and Caicos Islands; United Kingdom; United States; Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of; Virgin Islands,
British; Virgin Islands, U.S.; Western Sahara; Yemen
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
Native: Atlantic - western central, Atlantic - southwest, Atlantic - southeast, Atlantic - northwest, Atlantic
- northeast, Atlantic - eastern central, Indian Ocean - western, Indian Ocean - eastern, Mediterranean
and Black Sea - , Pacific - southwest
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Hoplostethus mediterraneus – published in 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T198579A20682773.en
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Distribution Map
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Hoplostethus mediterraneus – published in 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T198579A20682773.en
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Population
This species commonly occurs throughout its range on continental slopes (Moore in press). In a trawl
survey conducted off of the northwest African coast between 1962-1973, this species was caught in all
four seasons with over 55,000 specimens captured and was the most common Trachichthyidae in the
region. It is speculated that high catch rates in 1962 (n=43,815) caused a serious decline in the local
population as evidenced by comparatively low catch rates in subsequent survey years (n=3,043 in 1968,
n=239 in 1971, and n=8,391 in 1973 where the number of stations sampled was doubled; Maurin and
Quero 1982). It was described as widespread in a trawl survey on the northwestern African slope
(Merrett and Marshall 1981).
Moore (2002) considered Hoplostethus mediterraneus to be uncommon in the northern Gulf of Mexico
and the Caribbean, but more common along southeast coast of USA. Richards (2006) considered H.
mediterraneus as rare in the Gulf of Mexico and the western Caribbean.
Current Population Trend: Unknown
Habitat and Ecology (see Appendix for additional information)
Hoplostethus mediterraneus has a maximum size of 42 cm SL (Moore 2002), but is commonly caught
from 10-20 cm. It is found in deep water near the bottom on continental slopes and off of islands. This
species may be found locally abundant during spawning or feeding aggregations (Moore in press). It
feeds opportunistically (Pais 2002) on mesopelagic shrimp, small fishes including myctophids (Kerstan
1989) and squid. The diet consists mainly of crustaceans. Occasionally, fragments of fishes and
cephalopods have been found in the stomach contents (Pais 2002). Juvenile H. mediterraneus were
relatively abundant in bottom trawls off West Africa (Gordon and Duncan 1987).
In a study conducted in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea, H. mediterraneus recruited in the springsummer, females were larger than males, spawning occurred in May-November with a peak in late
summer, maximum age was 11 years, and natural mortality was estimated at 0.14 and 0.20 (D'Onghia et
al. 1998). Longevity is slightly longer for females (11 years) compared to males (10 years; D'onghia et al.
1998). Females also grow larger than males, however, growth patterns were not significantly different
(D'onghia et al. 1998). Fecundity ranges from 4,000-10,000 (FAO 2003). In a study on the northwestern
African slope, H. mediterraneus had a size at first maturity of 7.0-15.0 cm SL (Merrett and Marshall
1981). In a study off of southern Portugal, this species was immature at 4-13 cm, mature males from 717 cm, and mature females from 7-21 cm (Pais 2001). In a study on the Corner Rising Seamount in the
Sargasso Sea, sizes of H. mediterraneus ranged from 11-32 cm (mostly 19-26 cm), weight was 100-900 g,
spawning occurred in spring-summer, it fed mainly on shrimp, it was taken by bottom trawl at depths of
760-880 m, and performed daily vertical feeding migrations to shallower water at night (Vinnichenko
1997).
Systems: Marine
Use and Trade
It is occasionally fished and sometimes intensively in some areas (Moore pers. comm. 2013). In the
Northwest, Northeast, and Southeast Atlantic H. mediterraneus is utilized by deep-water fisheries.
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Hoplostethus mediterraneus – published in 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T198579A20682773.en
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Hoplostethus mediterraneus is taken as bycatch in deep-water trawl fisheries and longlines in the Gulf of
Guinea ( Moore in press, Schneider 1990). It also frequently occurs as bycatch in the deep-water
trawling fishery of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea (D'Onghia et al. 1998). It occurs as bycatch in
deep water trawl fisheries between 234-422 m off southern Portugal (Pais 2002). It is reportedly of
minor commercial importance on the Corner Rising Seamount in the Sargasso Sea (Vinnichenko 1997).
Hoplostethus mediterraneus is not utilized in the Caribbean.
Threats (see Appendix for additional information)
Hoplostethus mediterraneus is taken as bycatch of the deep-water fisheries (trawling and longline) in the
Western Central Atlantic. It is taken as bycatch in the Russian trawl fishery for Slender Alfonsino near the
Corner Rise Seamounts (Moore 2002) and in the northern Ionian Sea (D'onghia et al. 1998).
It is caught commercially in the Atlantic Ocean (Northwest, Northeast, and Southeast). The overall trend
of tons caught in the Northeast (one ton in 2005 to 16 tons 2009) and Southeast (one ton in 2006 to 14
tonnes in 2010) Atlantic is increasing (FishstatJ, Accessed on 2012-10-26).
In a trawl survey conducted off of the northwest African coast between 1962-1973, over 55,000 total
specimens of H. mediterraneus were captured. It is speculated that high catch rates in 1962 (n=43,815)
caused a serious decline in the local population as evidenced by comparatively low catch rates in
subsequent survey years (n=3,043 in 1968, n=239 in 1971, and n=8,391 in 1973 where the number of
stations sampled was doubled). This study should serve as an example of the extreme consequences
that even a small amount of fishing can have for this species. Despite a doubling of the number of
sampling stations, H. mediterraneus did not experience a population recovery during the eleven years
that elapsed between 1962 and 1973 (Maurin and Quero 1982). Bottom trawling on the Corner Rising
Seamount in the Sargasso Sea has damaged the deep water benthic habitat which H. mediterraneus is
associated with (Waller et al. 2007).
In the Greater Caribbean, no major threats for this species.
Conservation Actions (see Appendix for additional information)
There are no known specie-specific conservation measures for Hoplostethus mediterraneus, but its
distribution overlaps several marine protected areas (World Database on Protected Areas 2010).
Credits
Assessor(s):
Iwamoto, T., Moore, J., Polanco Fernandez, A., Russell, B. & McEachran, J.D.
Reviewer(s):
Strongin, K., Polidoro, B. & Carpenter, K.E.
Facilitators(s) and
Compiler(s):
Defex, T.
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Hoplostethus mediterraneus – published in 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T198579A20682773.en
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Bibliography
Antolovic, N. and Kozul, V. 2012. First documented occurrence of Hoplostethus mediterraneus Cuvier,
1829 in the Adriatic Sea. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 2012: 1-2.
D'Onghia, G.,Tursi, A., Marano, C.A. and Basanisi, M. 1998. Life history traits of Hoplostethus
mediterraneus (Pisces: Beryciformes) from the North-Western Ionian Sea (Mediterranean Sea). Journal
of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 78: 321-339.
Eschmeyer, W.N. 2012. Catalog of Fishes. Updated 2 October 2012. Available at:
http://research.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/Catalog/fishcatmain.asp.
FAO. 2003. Deep Sea 2003: Conference on the Governance and Management of Deep-sea Fisheries. Part
2: Conference poster papers and workshop papers. Queenstown, New Zealand, 1–5 December 2003
Dunedin, New Zealand, 27–29 November 2003.In: Ross Shotton (ed.),, pp. 500. Rome.
Gordon, J.D.M. and Duncan, J.A.R. 1987. Aspects of the biology of Hoplostethus atlanticus and H.
mediterraneus (Pisces: Berycomorphi) from the slopes of the rockfall Trough and the Porcupine Sea
Bight (north-eastern Atlantic). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 67(1):
119-133.
Hamukuaya, H., Bianchi, G. and Baird, D. 2001. The structure of demersal assemblages off Namibia in
relation to abiotic factors. South African Journal of Marine Science 23(1): 397-417.
Heemstra, P.C. 1986. Trachichthyidae. In: M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds), Smith’s Sea Fishes, pp.
410-413. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany.
IUCN. 2015. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015-4. Available at: www.iucnredlist.org.
(Accessed: 19 November 2015).
Kells, V. and Carpenter, K.E. 2011. A Field Guide to Coastal Fishes - From Maine to Texas. John Hopkins
University Press, Baltimore, MD.
Kerstan, S.L. 1989. The food of silver roughy (Hoplostethus mediterraneus, Beryciformes,
Trachichthyidae) from New Zealand waters. Meeresforschung 32(3): 241-247.
Maurin, C. and Quéro, J. 1982. Poissons des cotes nord-ouest africaines. Revue des Travaux de l'Institut
des Peches Maritimes 45(1): 5-71.
Merrett, N.G. and Marshall, N.B. 1981. Observations on the ecology of deep-sea bottom-living fishes
collected off northwest Africa (08°-27°N). Prog. Oceanogr. 9: 185-244.
Moore, J.A. 2002. Trachichthyidae. In: Kent E. Carpenter (ed.), The Living Marine Resources of the
Western Central Atlantic, pp. 1184-1188. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
Rome.
Moore, J.A., Hartel, K.E., Craddock, J.E. and Gallbraith, J.K. 2003. An annotated list of deepwater fishes
from off the New England region, with new area records. Northeastern Naturalist 10(2): 159-248.
Moore, J.A. in press. Trachichthidae. In: K.E. Carpenter and N. D'Angelis (eds), Living Resurces of the
Eastern Central Atlantic , FAO, Rome.
Pais, C. 2002. Diet of a deep-sea fish, Hoplostethus mediterraneus, from the south coast of Portugal.
Journal of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 82: 351-352.
Richards, W.J. 2006. Early stages of Atlantic fishes: an identification guide for Western Central North
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Hoplostethus mediterraneus – published in 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T198579A20682773.en
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Atlantic. Taylor and Francis, Boca Raton.
Schneider, W. 1990. FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Field guide to the commercial
marine resources of the Gulf of Guinea. FAO, Rome.
Vinnichenko, V.I. 1997. Russian Investigations and Deep Water Fishery on the Corner Rising Seamount in
Subarea 6. NAFO Scientific Council Studies 30: 41-49.
Waller, R., Watling, L., Auster, P. and Shank, T. 2007. Anthropogenic impacts on the Corner Rise
seamounts, north-west Atlantic Ocean. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United
Kingdom 87: 1075-1076.
WDPA. 2010. Protected areas extracted from the 2010 World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA).
Available at: www.wdpa.org.
Citation
Iwamoto, T., Moore, J., Polanco Fernandez, A., Russell, B. & McEachran, J.D. 2015. Hoplostethus
mediterraneus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T198579A20682773.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T198579A20682773.en
Disclaimer
To make use of this information, please check the Terms of Use.
External Resources
For Images and External Links to Additional Information, please see the Red List website.
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Hoplostethus mediterraneus – published in 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T198579A20682773.en
7
Appendix
Habitats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Habitat
Season
Suitability
Major
Importance?
11. Marine Deep Benthic -> 11.5. Marine Deep Benthic - Seamount
-
Suitable
Yes
Threats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Threat
Timing
Scope
Severity
Impact Score
5. Biological resource use -> 5.4. Fishing & harvesting
aquatic resources -> 5.4.1. Intentional use:
(subsistence/small scale)
Ongoing
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Stresses:
2. Species Stresses -> 2.1. Species mortality
Ongoing
Unknown
5. Biological resource use -> 5.4. Fishing & harvesting
aquatic resources -> 5.4.3. Unintentional effects:
(subsistence/small scale)
Unknown
Unknown
Conservation Actions in Place
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Conservation Actions in Place
In-Place Land/Water Protection and Management
Conservation sites identified: Yes, over part of range
Occur in at least one PA: Yes
Additional Data Fields
Distribution
Lower depth limit (m): 1466
Upper depth limit (m): 100
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Hoplostethus mediterraneus – published in 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T198579A20682773.en
8
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The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species
Programme, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership.
The IUCN Red List Partners are: BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International;
Conservation International; Microsoft; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Sapienza University of
Rome; Texas A&M University; Wildscreen; and Zoological Society of London.
THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™