Download FAR 2025/32 A rapid update of CPUE for the snapper fishery in SNA 2 to 2024

The snapper fishery in Fisheries Management Area 2 (SNA 2) occurs on the east coast of the North Island, primarily from Hawke Bay to East Cape. Snapper in this area is mainly taken as bycatch in trawling that targets tarakihi or gurnard.

Snapper in the north of the SNA 2 area (north of the Māhia Peninsula) and southern part of the area (mainly Hawke Bay) are separate biological stocks. As part of its management within the Quota Management System, snapper abundance in the north and south of SNA 2 is monitored using catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) from bottom trawl fisheries and, in this report, CPUE series are provided for the period 2002 to 2024, a one-year update from the previous analysis.

Snapper abundance in both the north and south of SNA 2 has increased between 2016 and 2024: by more than three times in the north and by almost eight times in the south. Snapper in the southern area was assessed as Very Likely (> 90%) to be at or above the target level in 2023–24.