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Proposed spawning area closure to orange roughy fishing in the East and South Chatham Rise (ORH 3B) from 1 June 2026

Update – 4 June 2026

Minister's decision

Following consultation, the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries has decided to introduce an annual seasonal closure to protect key spawning areas within the East and South Chatham Rise orange roughy fishery.

The closure area applies to the north-west part of an area known as the 'Spawning Box' and includes key spawning sites at Mt Muck, Rekohu, and Old Spawning Plume.

This year's closure will take effect from 4 June 2026 and remain in place until 16 July 2026. From 2027, it will be closed from 1 June to 16 July annually.

Minister's decision letter [PDF, 355 KB]

Map of closed area [PDF, 431 KB]

Published Gazette notice of closure  [PDF, 29 KB]

Consultation background

Fisheries New Zealand consulted on options for closures to commercial fishing for orange roughy in the spawning areas of the East and South Chatham Rise part of ORH 3B under section 11 of the Fisheries Act 1996.

We sought feedback on the proposed options and any alternatives. Your feedback was incorporated into our final advice to the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries and helped inform decisions on any changes.  

This consultation closed at 5pm on 10 April 2026. 

Consultation document

Review of proposed spawning area closure to orange roughy fishing in East and South Chatham Rise (ORH 3B) from 1 June 2026 [PDF, 1.7 MB]

Related information

This review followed engagement in 2025 on setting the Total Allowable Catch (TAC), the Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC), and non-regulated sub-area catch limits for ORH 3B for the 2025–26 fishing year. 

Review of sustainability measures for orange roughy (ORH 3B) and blue mackerel (EMA 1) – 2025 October round

Background to the proposed changes

The Minister for Oceans and Fisheries agreed to decrease the ORH 3B TACC from 4,752 to 2,321 tonnes for the 2025–26 fishing year. As part of this, the non-regulatory sub-area catch limit for the East and South Chatham Rise was reduced to 324 tonnes to allow the stock to rebuild.

To support the rebuild, the minister agreed that the reduced TACC would be supported by the closure of orange roughy spawning areas. This is based on recent research that indicates fishing activity may disrupt spawning aggregations and influence spawning success.

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