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Variation in otolith shape (otolith polymorphism) in Hoplostethus atlanticus, Hoplostethus mediterraneus, Paratrichichthys trailli, Pagrus major and Trachurus murphyi, quantified using principal components analysis based on Fourier transform decompositions of outlines of otolith shape, was particularly high among the samples of H. atlanticus from the North Atlantic, New Zealand, Australia and Namibia. The scatter was uniform, however, and did not show any significant differences among regions. The implication drawn from the high variability in otolith shape of H. atlanticus was that otolith shape polymorphism was maintained by some form of balancing selection across many small local environments which may result in k-selection with consequent poor response by H. atlanticus to maximum sustainable yield harvesting strategies. The variation in otolith shape defined by the otolith morphospace of the five species that were measured, showed a decreasing trend in scatter (i.e. decreasing complexity of shape) proceeding from the species with the deepest habitat (H. atlanticus) to the most shallow (T. murphyi).