For individuals Mā te takitahi

For businesses Mā ngā pakihi

Review of sustainability measures for southern blue whiting (SBW 6B) fishery – April 2026 round

Update 26 March 2026

Minister's decisions released

Following consultation, the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries has made decisions on sustainability measures for:

CRA 3 (Gisborne, East Cape, and Māhia)
CRA 7 (Otago) spiny rock lobster fisheries
Southern blue whiting (SBW 6B) fishery.

Refer to the separate consultation for CRA 3 and CRA 7

We have released the minister's decision letter, which provides further details and reasons for each of the decisions. We've also published summaries of the decisions for each stock.

Minister's decision letter [PDF, 376 KB]

Fisheries New Zealand will soon release the advice papers we prepared for these stocks and the submissions received during public consultation.

Summary table of the minister's decisions

Species	Stock/area	Summary of decisions
Rock lobster (kōura)	CRA 7 Otago	Increase the TAC from 137.5 to 161.6 tonnes Increase the TACC from 111.5 to 133.4 tonnes Increase the allowance for all other mortality caused by fishing from 11 to 13.2 tonnes Retain the allowances for customary and recreational fishing at 10 and 5 tonnes, respectively
Rock lobster (kōura)	CRA 3 Gisborne, East Cape, and Māhia	Decrease the TAC from 244 to 172 tonnes Decrease the TACC from 156 to 107 tonnes Decrease the allowance for all other mortality caused by fishing from 60 to 37 tonnes Retain the allowances for customary and recreational fishing at 20 and 8 tonnes, respectively
Southern blue whiting	SBW 6B	Retain the TAC at 4,988 tonnes Retain the TACC at 4,888 tonnes Retain the allowance for all other mortality caused by fishing at 100 tonnes Retain the allowances for customary and recreational fishing at 0 tonnes

Consultation background

Fisheries New Zealand sought feedback on proposed changes to sustainability measures for southern blue whiting (SBW 6B) as part of the April 2026 fisheries sustainability round.

The SBW 6B stock covers the Bounty Platform, 750 kilometres south-east of the South Island.

This consultation opened on 12 January 2026 and closed at 5pm on 9 February 2026.

About the proposed changes

Fisheries New Zealand reviews catch limits for selected stocks twice a year. This is consistent with the purpose of the Fisheries Act 1996 to allow for sustainable utilisation.

All of the proposals in this round were assessed:

in the context of the relevant statutory requirements
using the best available information, including the latest scientific information on the status of the stocks and tangata whenua and stakeholder input.

It's proposed to reduce the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of southern blue whiting. Full details are in the consultation document.

Consultation document

Review of sustainability measures for southern blue whiting (SBW 6B) for 2026/27 [PDF, 1.2 MB]

Supporting document

Information on the interpretation and application of the statutory considerations relevant to TAC decisions is in the 'Legal appendix'.

Legal appendix: Overview of legislative requirements and other considerations in relation to sustainability measures, April 2026 round [PDF, 395 KB]

Related consultation

A related consultation is underway for spiny rock lobster stocks as part of the April 2026 fisheries sustainability round. Submissions on the review of spiny rock lobster stocks close earlier (at 5pm on 28 January 2026).

Review of sustainability measures for spiny rock lobster stocks – April 2026 round

Related information

Fisheries Act 1996 – NZ Legislation

Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act 2000 – NZ Legislation

About the Quota Management System (QMS)

The Harvest Strategy Standard [PDF, 240KB]

Operational Guidelines for New Zealand's Harvest Strategy Standard [PDF, 843 KB]

The Deemed Values Guidelines [PDF, 896 KB]

Glossary of relevant terms

National Fisheries Plan for deepwater and middle-depth fisheries [PDF, 1.4 MB]

Regional plan provisions and policy statements [PDF, 324 KB]

Fisheries Infosite

Fisheries Assessment Plenary

National Inshore Finfish Fisheries Plan [PDF, 10 MB]

Submissions are public information

Note that all, part, or a summary of your submission may be published on this website. Most often this happens when we issue a document that reviews the submissions received.

People can also ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we must make the content of submissions available unless we have good reason for withholding it. Those reasons are detailed in sections 6 and 9 of the OIA.

If you think there are grounds to withhold specific information from publication, make this clear in your submission or contact us. Reasons may include that it discloses commercially sensitive or personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold details can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may direct us to release it.

Official Information Act 1982 – NZ Legislation