World’s Ugliest Creature Is Now Fish of the Year

The lowly blobfish, long recognized as the world’s ugliest animal, has resurfaced this week to win a comelier title: Fish of the Year. New Zealand environmental group Mountain to Sea Conservation Trust holds the annual contest to raise awareness for freshwater and marine life.

The blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus), a gelatinous deep sea creature and mascot for the Ugly Animal Preservation Society, grows to about a foot long and lives off the coast of Australia at depths between 2,000 and 4,000 feet. Its main competition for Fish of the Year was the orange roughy, which held a lead in the voting until “Mr. Blobby” surged ahead in the final days of polling.

“In some ways it was fitting blobfish and orange roughy were close at the end,” says Mountain to Sea Conservation Trust co-director Kim Jones. “They both live in deep sea environments close to New Zealand, and the blobfish is often incidentally caught during bottom trawling for orange roughy.”

It is somewhat unfair that the blobfish is considered ugly because when it is at home in its habitat, the crushing pressure of 3000 feet below sea level, it looks like any other fish. But when you bring this fellow – squishy body, soft bones, very little muscle – to the surface, it morphs into a misshapen blob.

The ten entrants in the Fish of the Year contest, which includes the big-bellied seahorse, lamprey eel, and whale shark, are all endangered or vulnerable species. They are mainly threatened by overfishing, which can be managed with sane fishing policies.

New Zealand also holds a Bird of the Year contest.

Photo credit: Kerryn Parkinson / NORFANZ