Managing fish size and abundance

As well as deciding how much fish to give to different sectors, we also have to decide how large and abundant we want the fish to be.

Managing fisheries at the level of Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) lets commercial fishers catch the greatest amount of fish, year after year in a way that is sustainable.

However, recreational fishers often want to be able to catch big fish more easily. This may mean reducing catches to below the MSY level, so that more fish can grow larger.

So managing a fishery to best suit both recreational and commercial fishers is not always possible.

a fine snapper.

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Updated : 16 November 2007

A summer of snapper

A survey was recently done to estimate the recreational snapper and kahawai catches in the Hauraki Gulf. This was done by NIWA, using a mixture of spotter planes and boat ramp interviews to sample the recreational fishers and their catches over this period.

The Hauraki Gulf is a popular recreational fishery, accounting for around 35-40% of New Zealand's total recreational snapper catch.

Intial results suggest more than 840 tonnes of snapper and 20 tonnes of kahawai were harvested by recreational fishers in the Hauraki Gulf over the 2003/04 summer period. Final results of the survey will be available later in 2006.

Another survey, using the same method, is being used to estimate the recreational harvest of snapper, kahawai, kingfish and rock lobster over the whole of the area from North Cape to Cape Runaway for the 2004/05 summer.

A similar survey has begun in the Nelson/ Marlborough region. Blue cod is a particularly popular fish there, with around 80 percent of the catch being taken by recreational fishers.