Seabirds and protected marine species caught by commercial fishers: quarterly report

About our fishing industry and fish stocks

The seafood sector provides an important source of revenue, jobs, and opportunities for New Zealand with export revenue forecast to increase 3% to $2.2 billion in the year to 30 June 2025.

Overall, the latest information shows fisheries remain in good shape. Fisheries New Zealand is committed to supporting sustainable fishing so that all fishers, commercial, recreational, and customary continue to benefit from the sea for generations to come.

To that end, Fisheries New Zealand collects a range of data to support decision-making for sustainable fisheries and minimise the effect of fishing on other wildlife.

Fish stock status

Fishing events between October and December 2024

Over the quarter from 1 October to 31 December 2024, there were 36,242 reported fishing events and 70,643 tonnes of fish landed.

A fishing event is described as each time fishing gear is set and retrieved.

Fish landed is described as all fish reported as caught and required to be reported on a monthly harvest return.

Refer to the catch data spreadsheet for monthly harvest return data for all Quota Management System (QMS) fish stocks.

Catch data – Q1 2024-25 October fishing year [XLSX, 45 KB]

The number of interactions with protected species this quarter

Of these 36,242 fishing events, 1.6% involved interactions with protected species. These interactions include animals making any contact with fishing gear, including those released unharmed. They include reporting from vessels with cameras on board and are broadly in line with scientific estimates that we use to assess fisheries risk to protected species populations.

Fishers work hard to reduce these captures and there is a range of voluntary and regulated mitigations in place. Fisheries New Zealand works with the Department of Conservation to manage the range of threats to protected species, including those posed by fishing.

We have plans in place to understand and manage threats to protected marine species, including Hector’s and Māui dolphins, sea lions, and seabirds. These plans include evidence-based approaches to dealing with fishing incidents, ranging from education at the lower end of the spectrum to fishing restrictions and closures where necessary.

Fisheries New Zealand releases quarterly information reported by commercial fishers about accidental catches of marine mammals, seabirds, reptiles, protected fish, corals, and bryozoans.

Non-fish and protected species caught by commercial fishers [XLSX, 301 KB]

This data can be subject to reporting errors

The data in these quarterly reports has been provided by fishers via the electronic reporting system. Where protected species reporting errors are identified through review of footage, we work with fishers to update the data.

Details of main accidental captures this quarter

Seabirds

New rules that came into effect on 1 October 2024 have reduced the risk of seabirds being caught in the surface longline fishery. These rules require all commercial fishers using surface longline fishing methods to either use special hook shielding devices or implement "3 out of 3" best practice seabird mitigations at the same time.

The 3 out of 3 mitigations include:

using bird scaring devices called tori lines
using weighted lines to sink hooks faster
setting gear at night.

These measures are targeted to reduce the number of albatross and other seabirds captured.

There were no albatrosses reported captured across the surface longline fleet in the October to December quarter, a significant reduction from the previous quarter, which in part reflects the seasonal nature of the fishery.

In addition, Fisheries New Zealand recognises that albatross routinely fly across country borders, so an international effort is required to ensure their protection. We continue to work with governments in the South Pacific and Southern Ocean to ensure an evidence-based approach to conservation.

Dolphins

Hector’s and Māui dolphins face a variety of threats, including from fishing, which are managed by Fisheries New Zealand and the Department of Conservation (DOC). Together, we are responsible for the Threat Management Plan (TMP) for Hector’s and Māui dolphins.

Protecting Hector's and Māui dolphins

To manage threats from fishing, a 'Bycatch reduction plan' is in place for South Island Hector’s dolphin. The plan sets out a suite of regulatory and voluntary measures designed to help fishers reduce the accidental capture of Hector’s dolphin towards zero.

Bycatch reduction plan [PDF, 7.2 MB]

There were 3 reported Hector’s dolphin captures this quarter – 2 in the Kaikōura region and one in the Timaru region.

Capture thresholds, called Fishing-Related Mortality Limits (FRMLs), trigger a range of actions depending on the effect of the capture on the dolphin population. Onboard camera footage review has enabled direct engagement with fishers about practices to support improvements and avoid captures.

In line with the 'Bycatch reduction plan', a vessel-based response was implemented following all 3 captures. Each of these involved:

requesting an immediate 'move-on' by the vessel, vacating the vicinity of the capture ('move-on rule')
direct engagement between the Department of Conservation protected species liaison officer, Seafood New Zealand, and the fisher to review the capture and improve mitigation measures
confirmation by Fisheries New Zealand that the vessel was operating in accordance with fisheries regulations designed to reduce the risk of protected species captures
review of onboard camera footage associated with the capture event.

The second capture in the Kaikōura region equated to 29% of the regional FRML. This triggered an area-based response by Fisheries New Zealand, Seafood New Zealand, and operators making up the core regional fleet to reduce the likelihood of further captures.

Coral

The amount of coral reported in this quarter weighed 6,548 kg. This increase on previous quarters is due to a single capture of a reported 6,000 kg of stony coral on the Chatham Rise. Initial identification has confirmed the coral as a stony coral, and that the capture was likely to include a mix of live and dead coral, and mud. Identification will be confirmed as part of an ongoing project to identify observer samples. Further information reported by the fisher and the on-board observer indicate that the trawl net missed the intended previously trawled area.

Fisheries New Zealand is working together with the Deepwater Council and the Department of Conservation to understand what happened and prevent it from happening again.

About 1.2 million square kilometres of New Zealand’s seabed is protected against bottom trawling and dredging. This equates to 32% of New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone and includes:

28% of underwater topographic features (including seamounts)
52% of seamounts (underwater mountains over 1,000 metres in height)
88% of active hydrothermal vents.

Fur seals

New Zealand fur seals are the most common seals in New Zealand and their population is growing. They are classified as 'Not Threatened' by the Department of Conservation, and there is evidence of northward expansion of the distribution of breeding colonies. The increase in captures is not considered to pose a threat to the New Zealand fur seal population on a national scale.

There were 23 reported captures of New Zealand fur seals this quarter, compared to the 247 reported in the previous quarter. This reflects the seasonality of the hoki fishery, which is at its peak over the previous quarter.

Having cameras in place in the surface longline fisheries and on inshore trawlers has likely contributed to increased reporting of captures.

Fisheries New Zealand will continue to monitor fishing's effect on fur seals and has an active research project to analyse the risk to these animals from different commercial fisheries. This information will be used to assess possible mitigation techniques.

On-board cameras are now live on 162 commercial fishing vessels

Experience overseas and in New Zealand is that monitoring of fishing by observers or cameras generally leads to more accurate reporting. Accurate data enables a more transparent and responsive fisheries management system and supports better understanding of the health of our marine ecosystems.

Footage reviewed is based on random selection within a risk-based approach, with higher review rates in fisheries with higher risk of at-risk protected species interaction.

Future research will use data from cameras to update risk and capture estimates to ensure these are based on the best available information.

On-board cameras for commercial fishing vessels

In June 2024, cameras were rolled out to bottom longline vessels fishing in northern New Zealand. There has been a continued roll-out of cameras on the remaining inshore trawl and bottom longline vessels and as of December 2024 there were a total of 162 vessels equipped with on-board cameras.

Of the footage collected from vessels this quarter, 31% was reviewed. This remains high by international standards, reflecting the overlap with the areas identified in the Threat Management Plan for Hector’s and Māui dolphins and other protected species.

The vast majority of protected species captures are being consistently reported by fishers, with 100% of reviewed protected species interactions also reported by fishers this quarter.

There has been increased reporting of protected species in the fisheries where cameras are operating, which aligns with international experience. The levels of protected species captures being reported are in line with our estimates.

Metric	01 October to 31 December 2024
Number of vessels with cameras	162
Number of fishing events for which footage was recorded*	8,372
Number of events reviewed by MPI	2,693
Percentage of events reviewed by MPI	31%
Percentage of reviewer detected protected species interactions that were also reported by fishers	100%
* A fishing event is defined as each time a net or longline is set and retrieved.