The world's first and most significant commercial orange roughy resource is located between latitudes 40-45' South in New Zealand's remote southern ocean. The fishery is subantarctic and extends for over 200,000 square nautical miles. New Zealand's Total Allowable Catch (TAC) averages 15,000 tonnes annually with a maximum fillet production of 9,400,000lbs.

Orange roughy is bottom trawled at depths of over 3,000 feet and caught year round. The May-September high season coincides with the southern winter. Harvesting conforms to the New Zealand seafood industry standards. Short trawls and rapid freezing or icing ensures premium quality.

New Zealand orange roughy is generally processed from frozen at sea H&G product and iced whole fish. Custom designed machinery ensures that headed, gutted and deep-skinned product conforms to uniform standards. The semi-processed product is generally filleted by hand to achieve maximum recovery and maintain quality standards. There is also some production of frozen-at-sea fillets. Use of polyphosphates is uncommon. All plants are government licensed and standards monitored by the New Zealand Ministry of agriculture and Fisheries (MAF).