Download FAR 2025/01 Stock assessment and spawning potential ratio-based management procedures for pāua (Haliotis iris) fisheries in PAU 3A

Neubauer, P.; Kim, K.; Amar, T.; Prince, J. (2025). Stock assessment and spawning potential ratio-based management procedures for pāua (Haliotis iris) fisheries in PAU 3A. New Zealand Fisheries Assessment Report 2025/01. 139 p.

Stock assessments support the sustainable management of fisheries resources, such as pāua, throughout New Zealand. This study assessed pāua stocks in the area around Kaikōura, which was affected by the 2016 earthquake (now quota management area PAU 3A). The current project aimed to assess the status and management options for pāua stocks there by developing stock assessment models for pāua. The models were informed by fisheries, biological and survey data, and performed well based on data from the periods before and after the earthquake. Although there were some uncertainties about the representativeness of the survey data and about recreational take of pāua, the modelling estimated that the pāua stock in PAU 3A was at or above target levels in 2023. In addition, this study also evaluated management strategies for supporting sustainable pāua fisheries following the earthquake. This part of the study considered different limitations, known as harvest control rules, for pāua fisheries in this area. Different scenarios of limitations were assessed, associated with reproductive output of pāua. Based on the exploration of different strategies, the harvest control rules proposed here indicated that their implementation would maintain the PAU 3A fishery in a healthy state.