Guccione D.G.; Judd S.J; (2024). Final Report for a Community Based Shellfish Monitoring Frameworks Project. New Zealand Fisheries Assessment Report 2024/75. 86 p

This report covers a Community Based Shellfish Monitoring pilot project. This project was undertaken to test whether community groups could safely undertake shellfish monitoring by freediving and to build a set of resources to help other community groups start their own monitoring programmes. Ultimately, the goal is to enable better management decisions moving forward for shellfish in Aotearoa. The report includes:
• A set of results from trialling monitoring as an activity carried out by young Māori
• An overview of partnerships that were key to the success of the project.
• Links to a set of resources that can be copied and adapted for community groups to use anywhere in the country, to monitor ten different types of shellfish.

Ballara, S.L.; Barnes, T.C.; Hart, A.; Sutton, C.; Ó Maolagáin, C.; Spong, K (2024). Catch-at-age from commercial fisheries for hake (Merluccius australis) and ling (Genypterus blacodes) in 2022–23 and a trawl survey in 2024. New Zealand Fisheries Assessment Report 2024/74. 87 p.

This report provides catch-at-age for hake (Merluccius australis) and ling (Genypterus blacodes) from commercial fisheries during the 2022–23 (2023) fishing year and a research trawl survey in January 2024, to update ongoing time series.

These estimates are based on biological data and otoliths (ear bones used for ageing fish) sampled by observers and survey staff. The sampled ages are extrapolated via broader fishery or survey information (length frequencies scaled to total catch or survey biomass) to form a representative estimate of catch-at-age.

Catch-at-age estimates of exploited stocks are important for stock assessment and management because they provide information on the selectivity of fishing gear, magnitude of a given year class, and productivity (i.e. growth rate, age at reproduction, and natural mortality).

In order to improve the precision of the hake and ling catch-at-age estimates in the future, increased observer sampling of hake and ling biological data and otoliths, in key areas and times would be required.

Datta, S.; Hart, A.; Barnes, T.; Sutton, C.; Spong, K. (2024). Catch-at-age for southern blue whiting (Micromesistius australis) during the 2023–24 fishing year. New Zealand Fisheries Assessment Report 2024/73. 21 p.

This report documents the age and length frequency data collected for southern blue whiting (SBW) in the 2023–24 fishing year from the Campbell Rise and Bounty Platform. These data add to the time series produced for the previous fishing years using the same methods. For Campbell Rise, a strong year class was observed which corresponded to SBW born in 2015. For Bounty Platform two strong year classes were observed, corresponding to SBW born in 2012 and 2018.

This report updates the catches, catch per unit effort, length-at-age and catch-at-age data for hoki in the 2022–23 fishing year. Data in this report were incorporated in the model for the hoki stock assessment in 2024.

The overall catch in the 2022–23 fishing year was higher than the catch in 2021–22. Catch increased in most areas but decreased in west coast South Island and Puysegur. The CPUE indices varied by area but were all at or above the long-term average.

Most of the catch in 2022–23 was of fish 45–90 cm in length from the 2006–20 year classes. The most recent (2020 and 2021) year classes appear to be lower than average.

Snapper is New Zealand’s most important commercial inshore fish species.
This describes a research study conducted in 2022–23 to find out the size and age of snapper from the commercial fishery in SNA 1 and the northern part of the SNA 2 stock, which covers most of the east coast of New Zealand North Island.
Snapper from four different fishing methods were sampled; bottom longline, bottom trawl, Danish seine and modular harvest system. In total, 47 873 snapper were measured and 5040 otolith pairs (fish ear stones) were collected for ageing by sampling 288 commercial fishing vessel catch landings at four fishing companies in SNA 1 and SNA 2, during October 2022 to August 2023.
The current study provides information that contributes to a 34 year time series. This series is used for assessments and fisheries management advice for snapper stocks.

The youngest average age of snapper was 7.4 years from the Bay of Plenty modular harvest system method and the oldest average age was 11.5 years from the Hauraki Gulf Danish seine method, the highest recorded average age in 34 years, indicating substantial improvement in the fishery. However, the average length of snapper was low, ranging from 30 cm to 36 cm, due to slower growth rates as the snapper population increases. SNA 2 north bottom trawl landings had a higher average size and weight for a given age (therefore faster growth) compared with all three SNA 1 fisheries.

The oldest aged snapper sampled in 2022–23 from SNA 1 was 52 years old (Bay of Plenty) and from northern SNA 2 was 57 years old.

The snapper fishery in Fisheries Management Area 2 (SNA 2) primarily occurs from Hawke Bay north to East Cape, on the east coast of the North Island. Snapper in this area are mainly taken as bycatch in trawling that targets tarakihi or gurnard.
As part of its management within the Quota Management System, snapper abundance in the north and south of SNA 2 is monitored using catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) from bottom trawl fisheries and, in this report, this information is given for 2002 to 2023.
Snapper abundance in both the north and south of SNA 2 has increased between 2016 and 2023: by more than three times in the north and by almost eight times in the south. Snapper in the southern area was assessed as Very Likely (> 90%) to be at or above the target level in 2022–23.

The red rock lobster supports the most valuable inshore commercial fishery in New Zealand. This fishery has been managed with catch quotas in nine Quota Management Areas (QMAs), which are usually treated as independent populations or stocks.

Since at the late-1970s, the settlement rate of puerulus (early-life stage) red rock lobsters has been monitored at several sites around New Zealand. These data were once used by the stock assessments of some QMAs to inform annual recruitment (the appearance of young lobsters in the fishery), which was thought to help with making short-term predictions about future stock biomass. However, puerulus data have not been used by any of the most recent assessments for any QMA for different reasons.

This document describes a review of the puerulus monitoring data and their utility, along with climatic data, for predicting New Zealand red rock lobster recruitment.

The research was divided into two main objectives which comprised firstly of generating herd testing data (using urine sensor technology) on four case-study dairy farms (located in Waikato and South Auckland, New Zealand) over the first two years of the project (Objective 1). The second phase of the project (Objective 2) utilised data generated in Objective 1 for scenario-based modelling using OVERSEER® model (OverseerSci, version 6.5.1) and subsequent research on how this information could be integrated into the model to mitigate farm N leaching loss with future research and challenges identified.

In this co-designed programme the impacts of predicted climate change and water limitation were considered for the communities in the Ngāti Pāhauwera rohe so that they may understand and identify aspirations and options for future land use for the multiple-owned, small, less well developed and discrete land blocks under those challenges.

This work was part of the critical understanding needed for working with whānau to look at the future use of their whenua, particularly enterprise options suitable for their land blocks in a changing climate that meet their economic, cultural and environmental objectives.