With slow growth rates, late maturity and a high maximum age of 100 years or more, orange roughy can be classified as a vulnerable deepwater fish species that can only sustain low rates of exploitation. Historical patterns of exploitation associated with this species suggest that it is currently not possible to manage its fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic sustainably, and the total allowable catch for orange roughy has been gradually reduced to zero for European fisheries since 2010. Orange roughy to the west of Ireland and Britain occurs on distinct bathymetric features (seamounts, hills and canyons) as well as on flat ground along the continental slope. Productivity-susceptibility analysis (PSA) was performed to evaluate the biological vulnerability of... |