Download FAR 2024/38 Characterisation, CPUE and length-composition analyses of the New Zealand albacore tuna fishery

Albacore are mostly caught by trolling on the west coast of New Zealand. Albacore catch is composed

of three distinct sizes in most years, likely reflecting one- to three-year-old fish.

The present analysis updated previous catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) analyses, showing low CPUE in

2023. Modeling of catch lengths showed that low CPUE was generally associated with low availability

of the usually dominant two-year-old year-class.

It is likely that patterns in New Zealand Albacore troll CPUE and catch composition are reflective of

environmentally driven availability to the fishery.