Download FAR 2025/37 Towards the development of a catch per unit effort (CPUE) index for the purse seine fishery

Hill-Moana, T.; Neubauer, P.; Middleton, D.A.J.; Vidal, T.; Escalle, L.; Cook, D. (2025). Towards the development of a catch per unit effort (CPUE) index for the purse seine fishery. New Zealand Fisheries Assessment Report 37. 51 p.

Existing data sets were used to characterise the activity of the purse seine fishery for small pelagic species that is focused off the northeast of New Zealand. These included catch and effort data from the fishery, and track-line data from both the vessels and their supporting spotter planes.

Incomplete recording—particularly of search effort—currently precludes the development of standardised catch per unit effort (CPUE) series to index the abundance of fish stocks that are primarily caught by purse seining.
Additional data collection that would support a more complete characterisation of the fishery, and may allow the development of CPUE series, is described.