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The survey, conducted aboard the research vessel Kaharoa, was deemed a success.
West coast inshore fisheries survey ends
NEW ZEALAND
Tuesday, December 11, 2018, 02:50 (GMT + 9)
An inshore trawl survey covering the area from Mana Island through to 90 Mile Beach in the far North identified 76 species of fish and measured 19,000 fish.
The survey, commissioned by Fisheries New Zealand and undertaken by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), was the first one since 1999 and was completed on December 2.
The study was the first in a series of three consecutive spring surveys with the aim of establishing the abundance and distribution of snapper, tarakihi, red gurnard and John Dory off the west coast of the North Island.
Manager of Fisheries Science Dr Shelton Harley says the survey, aboard the RV Kaharoa research vessel, was a success.
During the analysis, extra biological information was also gathered for 5,600 fish, including individual weight per fish and maturity stage.
"We use the best available scientific information to manage our fisheries. This data will feed into the next stock assessment for these fisheries, and we will use it to make any changes to catch limits," Dr Harley says.
For her part, voyage and project leader Dr Emma Jones from NIWA explains that this was a challenging survey to complete, with a total area of 34,636 square kilometres along an exposed coastline with several periods of bad weather.
Argo trips of the scientific vessel RV Kaharoa (different colors indicate different years)
Alongside the targeted species, some rare and unidentified species were caught and will be kept for identification by NIWA and Te Papa scientists.
The research area included the West Coast Marine Mammal Sanctuary, so a Maui dolphin mitigation plan was developed for the survey. When the research vessel was in areas closed to commercial trawling, trawling was ceased and acoustic data was recorded instead.
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Marine Mammal Sanctuary of the West Coast.
The results of the survey will be reviewed by a Fisheries New Zealand Science working group in early 2019, with the report being published later in the year.
The next survey for the west coast of the North Island is planned for October 2019.
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