Quarterly reporting of fish and non-fish catches

Fisheries New Zealand supports transparent reporting. Every 3 months we release information gathered from the daily self-reports from commercial fishers. These reports tell us about their catches – the species, the fishing methods they were using, and where they were fishing.

Commercial fishers also have to tell us about accidental catches of marine mammals (like seals and dolphins), seabirds, reptiles, protected fish, and corals, sponges, and bryozoans.

We use these quarterly reports to monitor trends throughout the year.

This data can be subject to errors

The data in these quarterly reports is largely unchanged from the information entered at sea by fishers. In some cases, Fisheries New Zealand has also had to make assumptions about the likeliest fishing methods. It has not been independently verified. That means it's possible that some species have been incorrectly identified. Or there may be some other reporting errors.

Consequently, this information should not be seen as an alternative to other reports such as the Fisheries New Zealand seabird risk assessment reports. Those are peer-reviewed and are underpinned by a robust analytical methodology.

The information in these quarterly reports also differs from the data presented on the website, Protected species bycatch. Information on that website is based on Fisheries New Zealand's observer-collected data. That data is checked for errors and the species verified before it's published.

Protected species bycatch

Risk assessment of commercial fisheries to New Zealand seabirds [PDF, 3.5 MB]

Yearly summaries show the seasonal variations

While we publish these reports quarterly, the yearly summaries provide a better comparison. Captures can vary significantly from one quarter to the next based on:

• natural factors (for example, some seabirds breed in New Zealand during the summer months from October to May but head overseas during the winter months)
• seasonal shifts in fishing effort.

Summary of catches for quarter 1, 2020-2021

This table is a summary of non-fish and protected fish species reported by commercial fishers for the first quarter of the 2020-2021 fishing year (1 October 2020 to 31 December 2020).

It includes reported captures within New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Fisheries New Zealand has prepared this report from information provided in fishers' returns. 

Download the complete detailed dataset [CSV, 41 KB]

Significant interaction events in the second quarter

As well as releasing information for the previous yearly quarter, we are releasing information on significant captures in the current quarter (1 January to 31 March 2021). This information is also based on fisher-self reporting. Consequently, it is subject to the same errors as the quarterly reporting.

Table 1: Significant capture events up to 23 March 2021

Table 2: Significant cumulative captures up to 23 March 2021

Catches by fisheries management area (FMA) for quarter 1 (2020-2021)

How does Fisheries New Zealand use this data?

In fisheries where there is little or no observer coverage, the data that fishers report is our main source of information on interactions with these types of species. Fisheries managers use the data to look at where, when, and how captures occur, to work out if there is more that can be done to reduce captures. 

Fisheries New Zealand and the Department of Conservation respond to significant capture events in near-real time. Responses take a variety of forms, including:

• protected species liaison officers contacting skippers to ensure the best mitigation is being used and crew understand how to reduce risk to protected species
• deploying Fisheries New Zealand observers to get more information on the potential cause of interactions or help identify species in future captures
• informing fisheries officers if there is evidence of potential non-compliance with regulations
• considering additional regulation of mitigation measures and/or vessel-specific regulations to ensure appropriate mitigation is used
• in some fisheries, implementing measures consistent with regulations (for example closing the Auckland Islands squid fishery if the fishing-related mortality limit for New Zealand sea lions is reached).

Glossary

• Bryozoans are a type of aquatic invertebrates that live on the bottom of the ocean.
• ‘COU – Corals’ is a group code used when individuals can only be identified as a coral. Black corals must be reported as Antipatharia, all other corals must be reported under the group code.
• ‘COB – Black coral’ is a group code used for all members of the Antipatharia order.
• ‘STI – Black coral’ is a group code used for all Stichopathes species.
• ‘CSB – Corals, sponges and bryozoans’ is a group code used when fishers cannot distinguish between them.
• Sponges and bryozoans are not protected. However, they are still indicative of benthic impacts.

Find out more

MPI's role in limiting the impacts of fishing on marine mammals, seabirds, and sharks 

Fisheries species codes

Fisheries New Zealand seabird risk assessment [PDF, 3.5 MB]

Maui and Hector’s dolphin Threat Management Plan

National Plan of Action-Seabirds [PDF, 9.4 MB]

National Plan of Action-Sharks [PDF, 709 KB]

Fisheries Inshore New Zealand (FINZ)