Download FAR 2025/16 Camera, dive, and dredge surveys of scallops in SCA 1 and SCA CS, 2024

Scallops (Pecten novaezelandiae) are a species of shellfish that live on the seabed in sandy coastal areas in Aotearoa-New Zealand (NZ). Scallops support highly valued commercial and non-commercial (customary and recreational) fisheries, but fishery closures have been put in place due to sustainability concerns.

Scallop populations in northeastern NZ were surveyed in 2024 to assess the status of the scallop beds since the closures were first put in place in 2022. A variety of camera, dive, and dredge survey methods were used to survey the main scallop fishing areas to collect the images and data for analysis.

The 2024 survey work included the first use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in a NZ scallop survey. AI was used to automatically find and measure the size of scallops visible in the photos from the camera survey. The AI method was tested using data collected by the divers. The dredge survey allowed a comparison between the camera and dredge survey methods.

The findings of the camera/AI and dredge surveys were similar. The AI correctly identified and measured most of the scallops in the camera survey photos. Future work could further improve this new method.

The 2024 survey results showed there had been some localised increases in scallop numbers in Eastern Coromandel and in Whangarei Harbour, but there was no evidence of recovery elsewhere. Due to the protection from the fishery closures, many scallops have survived and grown to larger sizes. However, the numbers of small (young) scallops were low compared to previous years, except for in Eastern Coromandel and Whangarei Harbour. Further recovery of scallop beds may take some time.

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