Download FAR 2024/54 Estimation of recreational harvest of red and packhorse rock lobster in the CRA 1 area (2022–23)

Rock lobster are important recreationally fished species in New Zealand. The recreational allowance for red rock lobster that can be taken from the CRA 1 management area was recently reduced, and a recreational allowance for packhorse rock lobster was recently introduced. With these changes, it is important to monitor the recreational harvest of these two species in the CRA 1 area to ensure that they are managed effectively.

Using information from fishers who agreed to have an interviewer count and measure their catch at a boat ramp, the number and size of lobster was used to estimate how many lobster were taken by recreational fishers from the CRA 1 area between 1 October 2022 and 30 September 2023.

Most lobster were caught during summer on weekends or public holidays. The average daily harvest estimate (across all surveyed ramps) was 4.35 kg for red rock lobster and 1.20 kg for packhorse rock lobster.

Daily harvest estimates from the small sample area were scaled up to the full CRA 1 area using the 2022–23 National Panel Survey estimates which provide thorough spatial coverage. It was very unlikely that the recreational harvest of red rock lobster in the CRA 1 area exceeds the recreational allowance of 22 t. It was difficult to determine the likelihood of packhorse rock lobster exceeding their recreational allowance due to the allowance being for the whole country.

A scalar (the ratio between the National Panel Survey estimate and our estimate) was produced for each species to help with long-term management of the recreational fishery in the CRA 1 area.