Download AEBR 377 A climate vulnerability framework for New Zealand marine fisheries

Boyce, D.G.; Tittensor, D.P.; Schleit, K.E.; Fuller, S. (2026). A climate vulnerability framework for New Zealand marine fisheries. New Zealand Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Report No. 377. 113 p.

Climate change is warming New Zealand’s oceans and increasing the frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves, impacting marine species and creating challenges for fisheries management.

This report presents the Climate Risk Index for Biodiversity-New Zealand (CRIB-NZ), a framework developed to assess the climate vulnerability of New Zealand marine fish and invertebrate species.

The framework combines information on species biology, climate change exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity to evaluate climate vulnerability.

CRIB-NZ uses climate projections and spatial data to estimate how marine species vulnerability may vary across different parts of New Zealand’s marine environment.

The framework can assess both surface-dwelling and bottom-dwelling species, making it relevant to a broad range of New Zealand fisheries.

An end-to-end example using yellowtail kingfish is provided to demonstrate how the framework operates, from data inputs through to vulnerability outputs.

Eight case-study species were also assessed to illustrate the types of outputs generated by CRIB-NZ and how they can be interpreted and applied.

Results show that climate vulnerability can vary considerably among species and regions.

Moving forward, successfully implementing CRIB-NZ will require additional vetting of the input data, specifically the reliability of geographic distribution data for New Zealand species.

The framework can be applied under different climate scenarios and future time periods to explore how vulnerability may change over time.

CRIB-NZ provides information that can support fisheries management and climate adaptation planning by identifying species and regions that may be most vulnerable to climate change.