Download FAR 2025/52 Recreational harvest of southern bluefin tuna in New Zealand, 2024–25

In this report we estimate the annual recreational catch of southern bluefin tuna in New Zealand for the 2024–25 October fishing year. This information helps meet the obigation to report all of New Zealand’s catch of this species to the Commission for Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna each year.

Tuna numbers and weights are collected from a number of sources including:

⦁ sportfishing club weigh station records;
⦁ a monthly telephone survey of South Island fishers;
⦁ catch records from online reporting on the fishcatch.co.nz web page;
⦁ catch records from recreational charter boats;
⦁ records of recreational catch taken from commercial vessels for personal use; and
⦁ boat ramp interviews at Waihau Bay in the eastern Bay of Plenty (where most of the recreational catch is landed).
⦁ The estimated 2025 recreational harvest of southern bluefin tuna is 1415 individual fish, which is more than in 2024 (992 fish) but the average weight of about 50 kg is lower than in 2024.

The estimated total landed weight for the recreational fishery in 2024–25 is between 69 and 71.5 tonnes with a mid-point of 70.3 tonnes.