National survey of recreational fishers

Overview of the recreational fishing survey

Every 5 to 6 years, we run the National Panel Survey of Marine Recreational Fishers. The survey collects fishing information from marine recreational fishers. This helps us to understand what they catch. We use this information when making fisheries management decisions.

The survey is part of a wider piece of research with the:

National Research Bureau (NRB)
National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).

Results from the most recent survey (2022 to 2023)

Between 1 October 2022 and 30 September 2023, we surveyed New Zealand recreational fishers on their fishing activity. The results and analyses were released on 4 September 2024.

National panel survey of marine recreational fishers 2022-23 [PDF, 4.7 MB]

The survey found that from 2022 to 2023, recreational fishers caught or collected an estimated:

3.7 million fish
1.6 million shellfish.

Other findings

There were an estimated 1.2 million fishing trips during the survey period.
About half of all recreational fishing happened around the North Island's north-eastern coastline (from the tip of Northland to East Cape).
Over half of all recreational harvest is taken between December and March.
Snapper, kahawai, blue cod, and red gurnard make up over 80% of all fish harvested by recreational fishers.
Over the 3 national panel surveys, data shows that the proportion of New Zealanders that consider themselves as marine recreational fishers is reducing, as is the proportion of survey participants reporting at least one trip per year.
While there has been a reduction in harvest due to the reduced number of fishing trips, people surveyed reported catching slightly more per trip.
While overall harvest (across all recreational fisheries) has declined, the pattern is not consistent around the country – catch generally declined in the north, but remains more stable in the south.
This change in fishing activity patterns may be due to a range of factors including extreme weather events in January and February 2023, extended La Niña weather cycles making some coastal areas less desirable to fish, and changes in the way people spend their recreational time.

National survey of recreational fishers participant brochure [PDF, 3.9 MB]

Past survey results

Results of the previous survey (run in 2011–12) were published in 2014.

National panel survey of marine recreational fishers 2011–12: Harvest estimates [PDF, 10 MB]

National panel survey of marine recreational fishers 2017–18 [PDF, 5.2 MB]

How the surveys work

The NRB recruits panellists using face-to-face interviews. Each panellist was regularly sent a text to ask if they went fishing. Fishers that went fishing more often got texted more frequently. If a panellist replied saying that they'd been fishing, an interviewer from NRB called them at a suitable time to get more details.

Interviewers recorded the catch of each species in each area. That information was scaled up to the national catch by all fishers using standard statistical methods.

The panel survey used the world's best practice methods. Other surveys executed by NIWA helped confirm the results.

Marine fisher and non-fisher survey – Information for participants

Making sure we get accurate results

Results from the 2011-12 and 2017-18 National Panel Surveys were compared with independent surveys using low-flying aircraft (to count boats on the water) and boat ramp interviewers (monitoring catch of returning vessels) and found to be similar for key fish stocks.

To support the panel survey, NIWA also undertake longer term monitoring at boat ramps (since the early 2000s in some areas) to track trends in fishing effort and harvest between National Panel Survey years, allowing us to estimate recreational harvest annually.

The trends in the annual harvest are generally consistent with the National Panel Survey. However, they also show that recreational harvest can vary considerably between years, with influences like fishery management measures and weather conditions, as well as changes in fish abundance.

Monitoring of recreational harvest of red rock lobster Jasus edwardsii in CRA 2. New Zealand Fisheries Assessment Report 2024/52 [PDF, 2.2 MB]

Trends in recreational boat effort and harvest from 2004–05 to 2022–23. New Zealand Fisheries Assessment Report 2024/53 [PDF, 2.7 MB]

In the boat ramp survey, NIWA interviewers asked fishers if they'd like to participate. If they did, the interviewer asked what they caught that day and measured the size of fish caught.

Researchers calculated the catch of each species in each area using the: