pale warehou of the mid-water trawl

Size
Length: 50–70 cm, Weight: 2–5 kg
Lifespan
15–20 years
Diet
Salps, crustaceans, squid and small fish. Filters salps from the water column using fine gill rakers. Also hunts actively for larger prey when available. Feeds throughout the water column from surface to seafloor.
Habitat
Deep continental slopes and open ocean waters from 100 to 500 metres depth. Prefers deeper water than the blue and silver warehou. Often found near current boundaries and upwelling zones where salps are abundant.
Range
Deep waters around New Zealand from Northland to the Campbell Plateau. Most common on the Chatham Rise and off the west coast of the South Island. Also found in southern Australia and the Southern Ocean.
Endemism
Native
Main Threats
Commercial trawl fisheries are the primary threat. Bycatch in hoki and oreo fisheries. Climate change affecting salp populations. No significant recreational fishing pressure due to deep-water habitat.
Population
Populations are managed under New Zealand's quota management system. Caught mainly as bycatch in the hoki and oreo fisheries. Stock assessments indicate stable populations with sustainable harvest levels. Less common than the blue warehou and silver warehou.
Conservation Status
Not Threatened
The deepest living of the three warehou species found in New Zealand waters. The white warehou prefers the cold dark waters of the continental slope, between 100 and 500 metres down. The blue and silver warehou rarely venture there. A fish of the deep. A ghost in the dim water. The depth provides isolation. The environment is stable. The presence is obscure. The visibility is low. It feeds on salps, small fish and crustaceans. It filters salps from the water column using fine gill rakers. This is a specialised adaptation for a specialised diet. The flesh is firm and white, similar to the blue and silver warehou. But it is less commonly seen in fish shops. Lives deeper. Caught less frequently. That is the pattern. The market is indifferent. The supply is limited. The demand is low. The value is commercial. All three warehou species are important in New Zealand's commercial fisheries. They are managed together under the same quota system. Stock assessments indicate stable populations with sustainable harvest levels. Less common than its relatives, but still holding on. That is the official line. It might be true. It might not. The deep sea keeps its secrets. The data is aggregated. The distinction is blurred. The management is collective. The risk is shared. Populations are managed under the quota management system. Caught mainly as bycatch in the hoki and oreo fisheries. No one targets white warehou. They just show up in the nets. Deep-water ghosts dragged into the light. The capture is incidental. The intent is elsewhere. The outcome is accidental. The survival is precarious. The extraction is industrial. The Māori name is not separately recorded. Warehou covers all three. The people who came before may not have distinguished between them. They caught what they caught. They ate what they caught. The name was enough. The specificity was unnecessary. The utility was primary. The tradition was practical. The record is general. That is the white warehou. A deep-living warehou of the continental slope, feeding on salps in the dark. Less common than its cousins, but still stable for now. The key phrase is for now. The deep sea is changing. The trawlers are still fishing. The white warehou swims on, unaware, uncaring, doing its deep-water thing. The future is uncertain. The present is exploited. The existence continues. No one told it otherwise.