Hapuku

Interesting Info

• The Hapuku is native to southern Australia and New Zealand, and also occurs around nearby islands in the southern Pacific.
• Its body is stout and bluish-grey, fading to silvery below, with irregular darker blotches, especially in younger fish.
• Juveniles are more patterned, often with bars and spots, which help them blend in with floating kelp and debris.
• Hapuku are mainly deep water dwellers, living on continental slopes and seamounts in depths of 100–800 m (330–2,600 ft).
• Adults are ambush predators, feeding on fish, squid, octopus, and crustaceans, which they swallow whole with their powerful jaws.
• Hapuku are considered excellent eating, with firm, white, mild-flavoured flesh that makes them highly sought after in both commercial and recreational fisheries.
• Breeding occurs offshore during winter and spring, when adults form spawning aggregations and release eggs into the open water.
• The larvae drift with currents before juveniles settle under floating kelp rafts and debris, sometimes travelling long distances.
• As they grow, juveniles move to rocky reefs and eventually deeper offshore slopes.
• Growth is slow, and they don’t reach sexual maturity until around 10–13 years of age.
• They are long-lived, with a lifespan of 40–60 years, making them one of the oldest-living marine fishes in the region.