‘World’s ugliest animal’ is NZ’s fish of the year

Don’t judge a blob by its cover.

Once dubbed the world’s ugliest animal for its soft, lumpy appearance, the blobfish has made a stunning comeback: it was crowned this week as Fish of the Year by a New Zealand environmental group.

The annual competition, held by the Mountain to Sea Conservation Trust, aims to raise awareness for New Zealand’s freshwater and marine life.

This year, the blobfish took home the coveted accolade with nearly 1,300 out of more than 5,500 votes cast.

It’s an underdog victory for the blobfish, which burst into mainstream notoriety as the mascot for the Ugly Animal Preservation Society in 2013.

The gelatinous fish lives on the sea bed and grows to about 12in (30cm) in length. They’re mainly found off the coast of Australia and Tasmania, where they live at depths of 2,000-4,000 ft (600-1,200m).

While the blobfish is known for its misshapen silhouette, in its natural deep-sea habitat it actually resembles a regular fish, with its shape kept together by the high water pressure.

However, when caught and rapidly brought to the water surface its body deforms into its hallmark mushy shape – the same one that has earned it the reputation of being among the ugliest creatures the world has seen.

Coming in second place was the orange roughy, a deep-sea fish in the slimehead family – known for the mucous canals on their heads.

It was “a battle of the deep sea forget-me-nots,” said Kim Jones, co-director of the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust. “A battle of two quirky deep sea critters, with the blobfish’s unconventional beauty helping get voters over the line.”

The orange roughy had appeared on track for the win, until a couple of local radio station hosts started a passionate campaign for the blobfish.

“There is an up and coming fish, it needs your vote,” Sarah Gandy and Paul Flynn, hosts of local radio network More FM, urged listeners on their show last week. “We need the blobfish to win.”

News of the blobfish’s victory has been celebrated by the radio hosts.

“The blobfish had been sitting patiently on the ocean floor, mouth open waiting for the next mollusc to come through to eat,” the pair said. “He has been bullied his whole life and we thought, ‘Stuff this, it’s time for the blobfish to have his moment in the sun’, and what a glorious moment it is!”

Besides molluscs, the blobfish also eats custaceans like crabs and lobsters, as well as sea urchins.

Instead of a skeleton and scales, the blobfish has a soft body and flabby skin.

Nine of the ten nominees for fish of the year are considered by conservation groups to be vulnerable, according to the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust. This includes the blobfish, which are vulnerable to deep-sea trawling.

New Zealand also has a Bird of the Year contest, organised by conservation organisation Forest & Bird. The latest winner, crowned last September, was the hoiho, a rare penguin species.