Can any fish beat the blobfish’s record tally from 2025?

Fish of the Year is making a splash this March, after a hugely successful 2025 campaign made waves on BBC, NBC, and a host of worldwide media networks.

The event runs from February 28 to March 15, with the winner announced on March 16.

While reigning champion and minor celebrity the blobfish is taking a rest in 2026, there’s a feisty school of would-be winners vying for the crown at www.fishoftheyear.org.nz.

The competition, run by Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust, has attracted backers from across the Aotearoa conservation community.

“We’ve got a number of groups who think their fish has got what it takes to win the hearts and minds of the New Zealand public. We’re expecting them to campaign boisterously on behalf of their chosen ika”, says Mountains to Sea Poutokomanawa (Co-director) Kim Jones.

The event falls at a critical moment for fish conservation in New Zealand, with communities and non-profits across the country loudly calling for better protections for fish, and the marine and freshwater environments they depend on.

“Bottom trawling, intertidal zone protections, and freshwater quality are all prominent issues in Aotearoa at the moment”, says Jones. “We expect a number of campaigners will highlight these issues as they try to make a splash on their ika’s behalf.”

While Greenpeace-backed orange roughy is tipped for a strong showing after last year’s silver medal, it won’t have an easy campaign. Already, rumours abound of a ‘freshwater species alliance’, and other behind-the-scenes dealmaking.

“It’s already getting pretty feisty. Scales may fly…or float”, says Jones.

With lesson-plans and booklets for teachers, and a colouring competition for kids (or kidults), there’s no shortage of reasons for Kiwis to get behind the competition.

“Last year more than five thousand New Zealanders voted, and learned more about the wonderful fish that call our waters home”, says Jones. “Now they have the chance to go to www.fishoftheyear.org.nz again and join in the fun.”

About Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust

Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust is a not-for-profit organisation that delivers marine and freshwater conservation and education initiatives. Through its two key programmes Experiencing Marine Reserves and Whitebait Connection, it engages more than ten thousand New Zealanders each year from the Cape to the Bluff.

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