Download FAR 2019/50 Pelagic shark fishery characterisation

This study characterises fisheries for blue, porbeagle and mako sharks for the fishing years 2005 to 2018. The sharks are caught mainly by surface longline around North Island and off the west coast of South Island during autumn–winter. Significant amounts of porbeagle shark were also caught by trawl around Campbell Island. Before 2014, most pelagic sharks were finned, but since then most have been returned to the sea dead or alive as a result of the introduction of a ban on shark finning.