This report provides a comprehensive overview of biological inputs for assessment of the risk of New Zealand commercial fisheries to New Zealand seabird populations and was generated as part of Fisheries New Zealand project PRO2019-10. The biological inputs were reviewed and updated where necessary, focusing on high-risk or highly abundant species, and restructured for the updated model formulation. The risk assessment model is described in an accompanying AEBR.

Land-based effects on coastal fisheries, kaimoana, and their habitats occur through a diversity of mechanisms. This literature review explores those mechanisms, and likely impacts in New Zealand, with arguably the most important being sedimentation. Background into concerns and interests held by selected iwi and hapū is provided. A potential new emerging issue is Submarine Groundwater Discharge rate reductions to coastal zones. Fundamental knowledge gaps remain, with research suggestions made.

Inshore trawl surveys off the west coast North Island using RV Kaharoa resumed in 2018 after nearly 20 years. Where inshore strata areas now overlap a commercial trawl exclusion zone as part of the Māui dolphin Threat Management Plan they are excluded from the new survey area. Historical survey data were analysed to assess the impact of these changes on the ability to monitor adult biomass of target species. The utility of the time series was reviewed for target and some non-target species.

This report reviews data available on New Zealand’s recreational pāua fisheries, which are then used to inform recommended survey approaches for the PAU 2, 3, 5D, and 7 fisheries. An earlier unpublished version of this report provided the basis for the design of a survey of the recreational pāua fishery along the Kaikōura coast during a three-month period in 2021–22 which has now been updated to provide harvest estimates provided by the more recent 2017–18 national panel survey.

Video observation was continued in the 2019 and 2020 fishing years to improve observer coverage of the FMA 1 bottom longline fishery. Footage collection in 2020 was impacted by several operational issues related to new EM systems. Multiple reviews identified that many seabird captures were missed during the first review of the footage. Nevertheless, video observation was effective in increasing observation of the fishery, with 65 seabird captures recorded by video monitoring in 2020.