Download FAR 2026/08 A rapid update of CPUE for jack mackerels in JMA 7 to 2024

New Zealand’s jack mackerel fisheries comprise three closely related species of pelagic fish, two native
species (yellowtail and greenback jack mackerels), and the Chilean jack mackerel that periodically
arrives in New Zealand waters from the wider South Pacific. Although catch limits are set for the
species group, the abundance of each species must be monitored separately.

Off the west of New Zealand (JMA 7), jack mackerels are caught by a midwater trawl fishery with
target fishing focussed in the Taranaki Bight. Observer sampling information allows the catches of the
three species to be separated. Greenback jack mackerel currently make up about 80% of the catch, with
yellowtail jack mackerels most of the remainder.

As part of its management within the Quota Management System, jack mackerel abundance in JMA 7
is monitored using catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) from the midwater trawl fishery. In this report, this
information is given for 1990 to 2024.

Both greenback and yellowtail jack mackerels were likely to be at or above target levels in 2024. In the
case of greenback jack mackerels, the assessment is considered to apply to the species in both the
JMA 3 and JMA 7 areas as there are indications they are a single population.