Download FAR 2026/26 The 2026 stock assessment of ling (Genypterus blacodes) off the west coast South Island (LIN 7WC)

Ling (Genypterus blacodes) is an important commercial fish species in New Zealand middle depths waters and is caught mainly by bottom trawls, bottom longlines, and increasingly by potting.

This report summarises the 2026 stock assessment of one of the five main ling stocks managed under the Quota Management System: the ling stock off the west coast of the South Island (LIN 7WC).

A stock assessment model was carried out, informed by commercial catches, commercial age compositions, commercial standardised catch per unit effort (CPUE) for both bottom longlines and bottom trawl, and information from the west coast South Island trawl survey biomass series.

The initial spawning stock biomass was at 54 144 t and status in 2026 was at 34% of initial biomass, with a downward trend in recruitment since 2003 and lower than average recruitment since 2008.

Five-year projections indicated that, under recent or a continued decline in recruitment, the spawning stock biomass would continue to decline even with a 30% reduction in recent catches and would most likely breach the limit reference point in 2031 at that level of catch.