Fisheries reports and stock statistics
Fisheries New Zealand reports on the status of fish stocks and fisheries in New Zealand waters.
Annual stock assessment
Each year, we assess the status of as many fish stocks and fisheries as possible against the requirements of the Harvest Strategy Standard for New Zealand Fisheries.
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Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Annual Review

A summary of environmental interactions between the seafood sector and the aquatic environment

A summary of environmental interactions between the seafood sector and the aquatic environment


The Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Annual Review (AEBAR) 2015 is a summary of environmental interactions between the seafood sector and the aquatic environment.

This, the 2014 edition of the Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Annual Review (AEBAR), expands and updates previous editions. It summarises information on a range of issues related to the environmental effects of fishing and aspects of marine biodiversity and productivity relevant to fish and fisheries. This review is a conceptual analogue of the Ministry’s annual reports from the Fisheries Assessment Plenary. It summarises the most recent data and analyses on particular aquatic environment issues and, where appropriate, assesses current status against any specified targets or limits.
Whereas the reports from the Fisheries Assessment Plenary are organised by fishstock, the Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Annual Review is organised by issue (e.g. protected species bycatch, benthic impacts), and almost all issues involve more than one fishstock or fishery.

This AEBAR document summarises information and, where appropriate, assesses current status against any specified targets or limits, on a range of issues related to the interactions between the seafood sector and the marine environment. This edition features some chapters updated from 2012 as well as new chapters on Chondrichthyans (sharks, rays and chimaeras), the ecological impacts of aquaculture, and Hector’s / Maui’s dolphins.

This is the second Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Review (AEBAR). It summarises information on a range of issues related to the environmental effects of fishing and aspects of the marine environment and biodiversity of relevance to fish and fisheries. The review summarises the most recent data and analyses on particular aquatic environment issues and, where appropriate, assesses current status against any specified targets or limits.

The Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Annual Review (AEBAR) summarises information on a range of issues related to the environmental effects of fishing and aspects of the marine environment and biodiversity of relevance to fish and fisheries. Developed over three years, this report summarises the most recent data and analyses on particular issues and, where appropriate, assesses current status against any specified targets or limits.
Aquatic Environment & Biodiversity Reports (AEBR)

The 2016 Kaikōura earthquake caused extensive uplift along the north-eastern coastline of the South Island of New Zealand. The disturbance resulted in damage to rocky reefs and widespread mortality of marine organisms, including important taonga and habitat-forming species such as pāua and bull kelp. This report describes the results of nearshore surveys at long-term monitoring sites between 2.5 and 3.5 years after the earthquake to assess the trajectories of recovery of rocky reef communities

Data from boat-based surveys north and south of Kaikōura Peninsula between 2013 and 2018 were analysed to assess potential impacts of the November 2016 earthquake on abundance and distribution of Hector’s dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori) in the Kaikōura region. A binomial mark-resight model estimated 250 – 450 adult Hector’s dolphins in the area for most survey periods. Results do not indicate a substantial change in the number of adults using the area in the 16 months following the earthquake.
Electronic monitoring (EM) for seabird capture data for the 2017/18 fishing year was compared with a NIWA audit of the footage and observer data. For the 26 trips in common, the audit recorded 5 seabird captures, as did the EM data reviewed by Trident Systems. However, both missed a seabird capture that was recorded by the other. For the observer data on trips with reviewed EM, 5 seabird captures were recorded, the same number as EM for these trips.






Using GPS tracking data obtained from yellow-eyed penguins since 2003, habitat models using the maximum entropy method were developed. Main factors determining habitat use were bathymetry, seafloor sediment composition, and colony distance. Acceptable model outputs were generated for North Otago and the Otago Peninsula as well as northern Stewart Island and Codfish Island. No adequate data were available for the Catlins, the eastern Foveaux Strait region, and southern Stewart Island; extrapolation from other regions proved unreliable. Habitat use maps are presented.

A survey of high-density breeding colonies of Westland petrels Procellaria westlandica, an endemic New Zealand seabird, undertaken between 2007 to 2011, conservatively estimated the population size to be 2827 (95%CI, 2143–3510) annual breeding pairs. The population may have been underestimated by up to 10% but is unlikely to have exceeded 4000 annual breeding pairs at the time of this survey. This estimate is the first detailed population estimate for all known breeding areas of this species.

Commercial catch-effort data and fisheries observer records of catch and discards by species were used to estimate the rate and level of non-target catch and discards in the ling longline fisheries for the fishing years 2002–03 to 2017–18. Estimates were made for broad categories of catch and discards including target species, QMS species, non-QMS fish, and non-QMS invertebrate species, and estimates of annual catch were made for several of the major individual non-target species.




This report presents an updated assessment of the risk of commercial fisheries in New Zealand for 71 seabird taxa breeding in this region, including data to the 2016–17 fishing year. The risk for seabirds was estimated as the ratio of total fishery-related deaths to the Population Sustainability Threshold, with 18 species having an estimated risk ratio that was non-negligible. Black petrel continued to be identified as the species most at risk from commercial fisheries in New Zealand waters.
