small reef cardinal, overlooked and lovely

Size
Length: 30–50 cm, Weight: 0.5–1.5 kg
Lifespan
25–40 years
Diet
Carnivorous – feeds on small fish, squid and crustaceans. Hovers in deep water using its large eyes to detect prey. Uses a lunging motion to capture food. Feeds near the seafloor at night.
Habitat
Deep continental slopes and seamounts between 200 and 800 metres depth. Prefers rocky bottoms and steep underwater topography. Often found in large aggregations near submarine canyons.
Range
Found in deep waters around New Zealand from Northland to the Campbell Plateau. Most common on the Chatham Rise and off the east coast of the South Island. Also found in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Endemism
Native
Main Threats
Commercial trawl fisheries on seamounts is the primary threat. Also threatened by bycatch in orange roughy and oreo fisheries, habitat damage from bottom trawling, and slow growth which makes recovery difficult.
Population
Populations have declined on heavily fished seamounts. The species is managed under New Zealand's quota management system. It is taken mainly as bycatch in target fisheries for other deep-sea species. Area closures and reduced trawling help protect remaining stocks.
Conservation Status
Not Threatened
Deep-water predator with enormous telescopic eyes. A fish that watches from the dark. It can live for four decades, growing slowly in the cold, stable depths. Its firm, white flesh is highly valued in Asian seafood markets, where it is known as New Zealand mutsu. Several related species share the cardinal name. A fish that is food on the other side of the world. The body is compressed and oval-shaped, with a large head and a terminal mouth. The eyes are enormous, adapted to gather the faintest light from the deep. The colour is a uniform pinkish-red or silver, providing camouflage in the dim light. The scales are large and easily lost. It is a deep-sea predator, hovering near the seafloor during the day and rising into the water column at night to feed. It uses its large eyes to detect prey in the dark. When it spots something, it lunges forward, capturing the prey in its mouth. It grows slowly, taking many years to reach maturity. It can live for four decades, a long life for a fish of its size. This slow pace of life makes it vulnerable to overfishing. A population that is depleted can take decades to recover. Bottom trawling on seamounts has reduced populations in some areas. The trawl nets scrape the seafloor, destroying the fragile coral and sponge communities that provide habitat. The cardinal fish is caught as bycatch in fisheries targeting orange roughy. The deep sea is dark. The cardinal fish hovers, enormous eyes watching, pinkish-red and still. The trawl net drags. The cardinal fish is caught. It does not know it is being sent to Asia. It just wanted to watch.