Increasing the catch limits for rock lobsters is too risky, some academics are warning. (File image) Photo: NZ POLICE
Seafood industry players say they will welcome an increase in catch limits for rock lobster and Pacific bluefin tuna if a proposal by the Oceans and Fisheries Minister gets the green light.
However, a researcher is warning that increasing catch limits for rock lobsters is too risky.
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has reviewed catch limits for spiny red rock lobster in the Hauraki Gulf, Coromandel and Bay of Plenty region, known as CRA 2, as well as Otago or CRA 7, and for Pacific bluefin tuna in TOR 1 (all of New Zealand). Consultation opened on Friday.
The rock lobster fisheries were valuable for the economy and culturally, Jones said.
"The fisheries provide jobs, bring significant export income for New Zealand, and are popular with recreational fishers. It's important that we strike the right balance between getting the most value possible from these fisheries while ensuring their sustainability. This is reflected in the proposals."
In 2018, catch limits for the CRA 2 rock lobster fishery were cut by more than half in response to a decline, he added.
"Stock assessments in 2023 and 2024 show a significant increase, so it's the right time to review these catch settings."
Jones said the proposals for rock lobster in CRA 2 reflected the fact that while the overall stock was increasing, there was localised depletion in some areas and an associated issue with kina barrens, as the lobster was a kina predator.
Upping catch limits of Pacific bluefin tuna, a migratory species, could net the industry an extra $3.5 million in revenue, Seafood New Zealand said.
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says rock lobster fisheries are valuable - both for the economy and culturally. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER
Fisheries New Zealand is looking to up catch limits for Pacific bluefin tuna by 89 tonnes, an increase of about 62 percent.
That includes an additional five tonnes of recreational catch and 84 tonnes of commercial catch.
Tuna fishers had been under quite a lot of pressure recently, and an increase would bring welcome financial relief for many, Seafood New Zealand general manager for inshore Tiff Bock said.
The lobster population had increased substantially in the past four years, Rock Lobster Industry Council chief executive Mark Edwards said.
"We're anxious to maintain and improve that stock status, but there is room for consideration for increasing catch limits while still seeing improved stock performance."
However, a marine researcher said the rock lobster population was increasing but not to the extent that fisheries claimed, making an increase in catch limits right now too risky.
University of Auckland researcher Benn Hanns said fisheries' stock assessments may go further out than his diver-led surveys, but that did not mean they were a true indication of numbers.
"When we do survey those areas, to our best available knowledge, know that crayfish move into the shallows to mate and we haven't seen this, the extent of this, this big increase in population, that has been reported."
A University of Auckland research paper, co-written by Hanns, noted that the spiny lobster Jasus edwardsii fishery in the Hauraki Gulf "has been in decline since the late 1990s, but latest stock estimates suggest a dramatic recovery following catch reductions in 2018".
The team compared J. edwardsii populations on shallow reefs (less than 20m depth) in three marine reserves with six fished locations across the Hauraki Gulf.
"Region-wide surveys found that J. edwardsii populations within protected areas were dominated by large, legal-size individuals, whereas lobster in fished locations were mostly below or around legal-size."
Consultation runs until 29 January. Jones said any changes for these fisheries would come into effect on 1 April 2025.
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