Fisheries observer services

What fisheries observers do

Fisheries Observers help us to manage our fisheries sustainably. They collect information onboard commercial fishing vessels to independently verify data on fish being caught. They also collect information about:

marine mammals and seabirds (by-catch and sightings)
biological information to help with assessing fish stocks
unusual specimens for museums
information about vessel safety and employment
fish processing information.

Observers provide independent data on fishing catch and effort

The data that observers collect is independent. They compare it against data from the fishing boats. They keep a separate logbook recording catch and effort. This includes catch information and amounts for all species caught. They also record details of fishing operations, like:

start and finish times
positions and places where fish were caught
fishing and bottom depths
devices and practices to protect protected species (like seabirds and marine mammals)
catch data for each tow or set.

Data collected for other agencies

Observers collect information for Fisheries New Zealand as well as for:

Number of days that observers spend at sea

When it comes to planning how many observers are required to be at sea for different fisheries, Fisheries New Zealand and the Department of Conservation work together each year to develop a 'seadays plan'.

These plans always run from 1 July to 30 June of the next year. Seadays are also used to determine how much money is cost-recovered from the different quota holders.

2023–2024 observer seadays plan

The following tables show the current number of seadays planned for each fishery and the total delivered up to 27 July 2023.

Inshore fisheries

Middle-depth fisheries

Deepwater fisheries

Highly migratory

Other fisheries

Inshore fisheries

Fishery	Stock management and environment (Fisheries NZ)	Conservation (DOC)	Total planned	Total achieved
West Coast North Island trawl	0	0	0	3
Snapper 1 (SNA1) trawl – Standard/PSH	125	125	250	0
TAR 2 trawl	35	35	70	0
South Coast South Island set net	24	24	48	0
East Coast South Island set net - Kaikoura	14.5	14.5	29	12
East Coast South Island set net - Otago	37.5	37.5	75	14
East Coast South Island trawl - TMP	60	60	120	16
Bottom long line - (SNA1)	88.5	88.5	177	0
Bluenose/hapuku & bass 1 (BNS/HPB2) bottom long-line	10	10	20	0
Crayfish 5 - potting	25	25	50	0
Crayfish 8 - potting	21.5	21.5	43	0

Deepwater (Middle-depth) fisheries

Fishery	Stock management and environment (Fisheries NZ)	Conservation (DOC)	Total planned	Total achieved
Southern blue whiting	200	50	250	0
Squid	1600	400	2000	0
West Coast North Island	297.5	52.5	350	43
West Coast South Island	340	60	400	241
Chatham Rise Middle Depth	467.5	82.5	550	55
Sub-Antarctic Middle Depth	425	75	500	27
Hoki Cook Strait	89.25	15.75	105	21
WCSI Hoki-Inside the line	89.25	15.75	105	27
Scampi 6A	180	45	225	0
Scampi Other	368	92	460	0
LIN BLL >34m	204	36	240	0
<34m Mixed BLL	118.15	20.85	139	0
LIN - potting	76.5	13.5	90	0

Deepwater (other) fisheries

Fishery	Stock management and environment (Fisheries NZ)	Conservation (DOC)	Total planned	Total achieved
North Island Deepwater	99	11	110	0
Chatham Rise Deepwater	261	29	290	19
Sub-Antarctic Deepwater	90	10	100	0
West Coast Deepwater	108	12	120	4

Highly migratory species

Fishery	Stock management and environment (Fisheries NZ)	Conservation (DOC)	Total planned	Total achieved
Domestic tuna surface long-line – North Island southern bluefin tuna	75.25	12.75	85	3
Domestic tuna surface long-line – South Island southern bluefin tuna	59.5	10.5	70	3
Domestic surface long-line – North Island bigeye tuna and swordfish	51	9	60	0
Domestic purse seine	85	15	100	1

Other

Fishery¹	Compliance	Requested days/permit requirements (industry)	Total planned	Total achieved
Compliance	100		100	0
CCAMLR¹		200	200	0
SPFRMO¹ trawl		50	50	15
SPRFMO¹ bottom long-line		30	30	0
SPRFMO¹ Exploratory bottom long-line		50	50	0
Days provided on request (VSCF/OAD)		300	300	32

¹CCAMLR – Commission for the Conservation of the Antarctic Marine Living Resources, SPFRMO – South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation, WCPFC – Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Management Commission

Fishery	Stock management and environment (Fisheries NZ)	Conservation (DOC)	Total planned	Total achieved
Training	255	45	300	13

What proportion of commercial fishing is monitored by a fisheries observer?

The best way of understanding how much fishing is independently verified by a fisheries observer is through measuring fishing effort.

Find out about commercial fishing monitored by observers

If an observer is on your boat

You must take an observer on your boat if we ask you to. This is a requirement under the Fisheries Act 1996. You must provide them with:

food
accommodation
access to the boat, records, fish, crew, and equipment
full access to communication devices on the boat
help to complete their duties.

Observers are not enforcement officers. However, they must record any potential offences that they observe.

Heath and safety assessment before leaving port

A commercial fishing boat must pass a health and safety assessment before it leaves port with an observer on it. This helps us to meet obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. Fisheries New Zealand does the assessment.

We're making a risk assessment process

We're making a risk assessment process for boats that will have an observer on board. This will help to:

work out how often your boat needs a health and safety assessment
reduce disruption that the assessments might cause
help everyone with meeting their health and safety obligations.

What the assessment involves

We have assessment forms for both inshore and deepwater boats. Fishers should read these to make sure they understand what the assessments will involve.

We've updated these in response to COVID-19.

Deep water pre-placement health and safety assessment form [PDF, 137 KB]

Inshore pre-placement health and safety assessment form [PDF, 137 KB]