Seafood New Zealand reaffirms the sector's commitment to responsible fisheries stewardship and sustainable management, in light of today's decision regarding the orange roughy 3B fishery and all other reviewed stocks.
The Minister for Oceans and Fisheries announced today that the orange roughy 3B fishery (ORH 3B) Total Allowable Catch (TAC) would be reduced from 4,995 to 2,349 tonnes with a voluntary catch limit of 324 tonnes for the East and South Chatham Rise (ESCR) sub-area, down from the previous voluntary limit of 2,755 tonnes.
Today's management decision is on top of an existing 53% reduction in the catch limit of the fishery, which was applied in 2023-24 and saw the Total Allowable Catch reduced from 5,970 tonnes down to 2,755 tonnes.
"Our orange roughy stocks are important - and we want them to thrive, not only for today but into the future. To ensure we can fish sustainably for generations we need to continue our efforts to better understand these fish," says Seafood New Zealand Chief Executive Lisa Futschek.
"As marine stewards, commercial fishers understand more than most the importance of healthy fisheries marine ecosystems while ensuring the long-term viability of New Zealand's deepwater fisheries," she says. "An example of this is the industry's proactive step to recommend Fisheries New Zealand (FNZ) reduce the catch limit in the ESCR fishery in 2023, which was then implemented."
"Adjusting catch limits in response to the changes that we measure in fish populations is the essence of fisheries management," says Aaron Irving, Seafood New Zealand GM Deepwater. "Fishers are dependent on healthy orange roughy stocks, this is why we harvest only a small percentage of the fish in the water and limit catch when required."
"The ORH 3B fishery is a cornerstone of New Zealand's deepwater sector. With continued investment in science and a shared commitment to stewardship, we are confident in ensuring the sustainability of our orange roughy fisheries for generations to come," Futschek says.
As part of the biannual review, the Minister also made decisions on a range of inshore stocks. These assessments are a necessary part of New Zealand's sustainable fisheries management.
Seafood New Zealand was disappointed to see the decrease in TAC for jack mackerel, as there is no information indicating a sustainability risk in this fishery, and efforts were in train to collect valuable information on the jack mackerel stock.
Seafood New Zealand welcomes the increase in the catch limit for SNA 7, but were hoping it would be larger to reflect the significant increase in abundance that has been seen in that area. This decision means it is likely that snapper will continue to be a "choke species" for fisheries in the area. This means that there are so many fish they struggle to avoid them and end up having to pay deemed values (effectively a fine) as a result. It also means they can't catch their full allowance of other species because the snapper get in the way.
Seafood New Zealand was pleased to see the status quo retained for anchovy (ANC 1), sprat (SPR 1), and garfish (GAR 1) where decreases were proposed with no evidence of a sustainability risk.
The decisions will guide the new fishing year, which starts on 1 October.
