The Understanding NAIT compliance behaviour project is one of several Mycoplasma bovis Science Programme research projects which aim to support the eradication of the cattle disease M. bovis, reduce the impact of the disease, and leave New Zealand’s biosecurity system stronger.

MPI and Government Industry Agreement partners DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb NZ sought to better understand on-farm NAIT compliance behaviour, specifically what drives NAIT compliance and how it can be improved. Qualitative, in-depth interviews were undertaken with farmers and third parties. This independent research was carried out by Colmar Brunton.

During 2019, the statutory reporting requirements for the inshore trawl fleet changed with the introduction of electronic reporting (ER) for the reporting of fishing activity, catches, the at-sea disposal of catches, and landed catches. This study provides a review of the catch and effort data collected from the inshore trawl fleet to evaluate the potential impact on the derivation of CPUE indices for a range of inshore finfish species.

We are updating an omission in the Current and Past Policy Initiatives table.

Catch statistics and length and age data of hoki taken from the 2019–20 commercial fisheries are summarised and compared with data from previous years. Biomass indices from research surveys and results from other research on hoki in the last year are also briefly described. These data were used in the hoki stock assessment carried out in 2021 (published separately).

This report provides an update of blue mackerel fisheries from 1989–90 to 2017–18 for EMA 7. Data summarised include commercial catch and effort data, observer data, and market sampling data. Biology information is also summarised.

A period of parallel reporting of fishing effort was carried out in 2019, using the statutory paper forms alongside early adoption of electronic reporting. Twenty vessels, mainly active in the northern snapper (SNA 1) fishery, actively participated in the trial, providing 294 vessel-days of parallel reporting data. Overall, the study indicates no major concerns for the generation of trawl or bottom longline fishery CPUE indices with continuity across the change in reporting regime.

This report summarises a stock assessment of Sub-Antarctic ling (LIN 5&6, excluding LIN 6B) for the 2020–21 fishing year. The main indices of abundance were trawl surveys and the commercial longline standardised catch per unit effort series. Natural mortality was shown to be poorly estimated, with bias, and was hence assumed to be 0.18 y-1. The initial biomass was lower than in the previous assessment at about 187 350 t; stock status in 2021 was estimated at 71% B0.

A roving-access survey design is proposed to estimate the harvest of pāua (Haliotis iris) by amateur fishers. There are multiple access points from a coastal highway. The survey uses an instantaneous count of potential pāua gatherers in the water during a transit of the coast, to provide an estimate of total effort in each spatial and temporal stratum, and a separate concurrent on-site access survey to conduct interviews of fishers at the completion of trips to estimate catch per unit effort.