The Resource Centre is an extensive library of documents, data and links relevant to fisheries management and Rescue Fish. Browse using the links below, and click the triangle button to explore subsections.
Pauly, Simmons et al. Working Paper. A reconstruction of New Zealand’s marine fisheries catches between 1950 and 2010. New Zealand’s current statistics are incomplete due to the omission of significant amounts of unreported landings. This reconstruction accounts for unreported catch to provide a more comprehensive picture of total marine fisheries catches taken from New Zealand […]
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Article on Stuff. Toheroa was a favourite NZ seafood delicacy of the 1900s. It was vastly over-caught and harvesting was banned in the 1970s. In the decades since it has not recovered. Researchers seem to think there are multiple reasons why toheroa are not abundant now. 4 March 2019.
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Where have all the scallops gone? Interviews with commercial fishers, researchers and locals discussing the depletion of scallops in Golden and Tasman Bays at the top of the South Island. Article on Stuff. 2 October 2012.
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Officials admit that the orange roughy fishery on the Chatham Rise – an area between the South Island and Chatham Islands – is continuing to collapse. Fish numbers continue to decline despite a rebuild strategy. Further cuts to catches will be applied and stock monitoring will continue. Stuff article. 6 July 2010.
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Greenpeace says the collapse of the West Coast hoki fishery demonstrates why we need an independent inquiry into New Zealand’s failing fisheries management system. This comes after fishing companies revealed they were struggling to catch fish in the hoki fishery off the west coast of the South Island. Greenpeace New Zealand. 26 September 2018
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The New Zealand Sport Fishing Council-LegaSea and the New Zealand Angling & Casting Association letter to the Minister of Fisheries, Stuart Nash, ahead of his 2018 decision regarding catch reductions for the east coast tarakihi fishery. Letter dated 31 August 2018. Over 8000 people had supported a campaign calling on the Minister to be bold […]
Download > (pdf, 178.75 KB) The catches of global marine fisheries: The unseen cost of shifting baselines. World leading fisheries scientist Daniel Pauly of the University of British Columbia shared this presentation on global marine fisheries catch while attending the New Zealand Fisheries Symposium. Snells Beach. 8 April 2016. Daniel Pauly is the lead marine scientist of The Sea Around […]
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The health of our marine ecosystem, its resilience in the face of global climate change, and effectiveness of our fisheries management are profoundly compromised by the processes used to assess stocks and set total catch limits. Professor Steve Dawson, Head of Marine Science at Otago University, explores key issues regarding fisheries management in New Zealand […]
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Frequently Asked Questions about bottom trawling. What is bottom trawling, why is it unpopular with the public and how much trawling is occurring in New Zealand waters? Also LegaSea’s view on bottom trawling. LegaSea. November 2019.
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Residents are tired of Houhora harbour being depleted by commercial fishing. Their concerns have been ignored by the government. The Northland residents are calling for the harbour to be given official recreational status. NZ Herald/Northland Age. 8 July 2014.
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Dave Hansford investigates the illegal fishing practices and corruption occurring under a broken fisheries management system in New Zealand. This article includes revelations about widespread illegal fishing, highlighting the failure of free market policy to protect New Zealand’s environment and common assets. New Zealand Geographic. 2016.
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Crayfish numbers are so low in the Hauraki Gulf they are now considered ‘functionally extinct’. The number of crayfish in the Leigh marine reserve are less than that recorded outside the reserve in 1995. Experts are calling for an overhaul of crayfish management. Article for Stuff. 31 August 2016.
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