This report provides a comprehensive overview of fishery data inputs for assessment of the risk of New Zealand commercial fisheries to New Zealand seabird populations. The risk assessment uses the Spatially Explicit Fisheries Risk Assessment (SEFRA) framework, which requires spatially resolved fishing effort and capture data. These data inputs were extracted from the Protected Species Capture database (version 6; up to and including the 2019/20 fishing year) and prepared for analysis.

This report provides a comprehensive overview of biological inputs for assessment of the risk of New Zealand commercial fisheries to New Zealand seabird populations and was generated as part of Fisheries New Zealand project PRO2019-10. The biological inputs were reviewed and updated where necessary, focusing on high-risk or highly abundant species, and restructured for the updated model formulation. The risk assessment model is described in an accompanying AEBR.

As part of the development of spatially explicit fisheries risk assessment methodologies for chondrichthyans, spatial distribution modelling methodologies were tested on carpet shark, school shark, great white shark, and green turtle as well as on one simulated dataset. Eight recommendations were made for future distribution models including the need to model a year x space interaction as well as both the probability of presence and catch rate, and the usefulness of simulations.

Low-relief red-algae turf extends over about 40% of sandy seafloors of ‘Ipipiri Platform’ in eastern Bay of Islands, its spatial extent apparently steady over recent decades. In contrast, the extent of the subtidal seagrass (presently about 5%) has apparently varied substantially. Subtidal seagrass is rare today, and the algal-turf biome is undescribed elsewhere. These bottom-stabilising vegetative biomes are probably the long-term surficial ecological communities of recent geological times.

Land-based effects on coastal fisheries, kaimoana, and their habitats occur through a diversity of mechanisms. This literature review explores those mechanisms, and likely impacts in New Zealand, with arguably the most important being sedimentation. Background into concerns and interests held by selected iwi and hapū is provided. A potential new emerging issue is Submarine Groundwater Discharge rate reductions to coastal zones. Fundamental knowledge gaps remain, with research suggestions made.

The spatially explicit fisheries risk assessment (SEFRA) of Hector’s and Māui dolphins was updated and outputs were reported for Hector’s dolphins in three local-scale areas: the north coast of the South Island, the Kaikōura coast, and the south coast of the South Island. This analysis included a substantial revision of the model used to estimate the spatial distribution of the dolphins, as well as an update of the fisheries data required by the SEFRA model.

The Yellow-eyed Penguin Database (YEPDB), containing monitoring, marking, post-mortem, and captivity data for yellow-eyed penguins in New Zealand from 1971 to 2022, was groomed following a 5-step scripted and manual cleaning workflow. Original records, often in paper form, were digitally archived in a Microsoft SharePoint Data Management System (DMS), along with the cleaned tables, master lists, ancillary tables, database metadata, and 29 lookup tables.

This project explores the use of decision-support tools to identify trawl corridors in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park (HGMP). Biogenic habitat spatial distributions were modelled for twenty functional groups and scenarios developed using decision-support tools were presented at four advisory group workshops. The results can be used to inform spatial management processes in the HGMP.

The study summarised diets of top predators in New Zealand waters and estimated the spatial-temporal distribution of many of their prey species caught in inshore fisheries. These were consistent with previous estimates and with existing information and could be used as inputs in other processes such as spatial risk assessment models. Care should be taken for species such as squid or hoki where only the shallow part of their range was included and species groups such as jack mackerel or rattail.

Video observation was continued in the 2019 and 2020 fishing years to improve observer coverage of the FMA 1 bottom longline fishery. Footage collection in 2020 was impacted by several operational issues related to new EM systems. Multiple reviews identified that many seabird captures were missed during the first review of the footage. Nevertheless, video observation was effective in increasing observation of the fishery, with 65 seabird captures recorded by video monitoring in 2020.

This project developed a food-web model to explore the potential ecosystem effects of changes to small and medium-sized pelagic fish (including jack mackerels, anchovy, pilchards, sprat, yelloweye mullet, blue mackerel, yellow-tailed scad/kōheru) in the Hauraki Gulf. We found that the response of the ecosystem to changes in the abundances of pelagic fishes depended strongly on the extent to which top predators (seabirds, whales/dolphins, fish) are flexible in their diets.

This project sought to understand and model the effects of environmental variability on the function of the marine ecosystems of the Subantarctic region of New Zealand and adjacent waters, focusing on key megafauna and fished species using this region. We found evidence for long-term changes in atmospheric/oceanic climate, with differential effects on productivity comparing regions, and with associated effects on the productivity and distribution of some of the study species.

Spatially explicit set net fishing effort back to 1931 was predicted by combining data on current and historical set net fishing. The results reflect that up to 1960, set netting was restricted the west coast of the North Island, Hauraki Gulf, Marlborough Sounds, and Banks Peninsula. The use of nylon monofilament nets, other gear improvements, and incentives to fish for species such as rig (Mustelus lenticulatus) resulted in the expansion of set netting across New Zealand and further offshore.

This project estimated the at-sea distribution within the New Zealand EEZ of 11 seabird taxa considered to be most at risk from captures by New Zealand commercial fishing. Predictive habitat models fitted to spatial information were used to predict at-sea distribution of each taxon for each month. Seabird tracking data were used to derive monthly proportions of birds within the EEZ, which were nearly always lower than those assumed by the most recent multispecies seabird spatial risk assessment.