Fisheries Infosite

Ruby Fish Central(East) (RBY2)
Scientific name
Plagiogeneion rubiginosum

Physical characteristics

Rubyfish have a dark pink head, body and fins. They have silver on their sides and are paler on the underside. They can grow to a maximum length of 58 cm.

Life cycle

There has been little research on Rubyfish. The data that have been collected shows that Rubyfish are slow-growing and long-lived with maximum age estimates of 45 years old.

Habitat

Rubyfish live at depths from 50-800 m, but are most commonly found around 300 m. They feed on crustaceans, salps and myctophid fish.

 
Key statistics
Recreational significance Low
Customary significance Low
Reported commercial catch1 (tonnes)
Quota value estimate2 (NZ$m)
Exports estimate2 (NZ$m)
1 Reported commercial catch is calculated for the 12 month period to 30/09/2025
2 Quota value and exports are calculated pro-rata to reported commercial catch for the 12 month period to 30/09/2025