Download FAR 2026/03 Striped marlin catch and CPUE in the New Zealand sport fishery, 2022–23 to 2024–25

This report describes the annual recreational catch of striped marlin in New Zealand and the data collected by the Logbook Programme for the 2022–23 to 2024–25 fishing years. Information on the annual catch and fishing effort help track trends in the fishery and the wider striped marlin population.

This report adds to a long record of recreational striped marlin catch in New Zealand including:

- 100 years of weigh station records of individual fish from some sportfishing clubs.
- 50 years of charter boat average catch per day fished for marlin.
- 50 years of tag and release information from the Gamefish Tagging Programme.
- 47 years of the number of billfish, sharks, and tuna weighed by sport fishing clubs.
- 19 years of daily catch and effort data from the Billfish Logbook Programme.

Overall, the records show striped marlin catch per day fished was relatively high in the late 1970s and early 1980s with three years of low CPUE in the mid-1980s. Catch rates were high again in the mid-1990s and there has been a declining trend since then. The 2024–25 fishing year was notable for a shift in the distribution of striped marlin with poor catches in the traditional fishing regions of northern and eastern New Zealand and high catch rates in the central and southern west coast of the North Island.