Download AEBR 188 - Estimated captures of New Zealand fur seal, New Zealand sea lion, common dolphin, and turtles in New Zealand commercial fisheries, 1995–96 to 2014–15

Commercial fisheries in New Zealand waters interact with non-target species, with some of these interactions resulting in incidental captures and mortality. Captures of protected species are documented by fisheries observers, providing an independent record of the number and identify of the species captured in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). For species with sufficient numbers of observed captures, the observer records and fishing effort data are used to develop statistical models to estimate the total number of captures across species and fisheries in New Zealand waters. This study presents total capture estimates of marine mammals and sea turtles in trawl and longline fisheries for the period between the 1995–96 and 2014–15 fishing years (a fishing year runs from 1 October to 30 September).