Download FAR 2014/55 Age composition of commercial snapper landings in SNA 1, 2012–13

Random age frequency sampling over 4 seasons from spring 2012 to winter 2013 was used to estimate catch-at-age for snapper from 3 bottom longline fisheries in SNA 1: East Northland, Hauraki Gulf, and Bay of Plenty. Spatio-temporal comparisons showed good representativeness. Distributions have continued to broaden from the previous sampling in 2009–10, resulting in the highest estimates of mean age seen in both the Hauraki Gulf (11.3 years) and Bay of Plenty (8.5 years) over the past two decades.