Rare Red Squid

For those inspired by stories of the Kraken, here’s one for you. This five-kilo beast was recently brought aboard the FV Independent while mid-water trawling for arrow squid at the Snares.

Having not seen a squid like this before, Independent Fisheries Ltd Operations Manager, Stephen Bishop, notified scientists...

BPAs and MPAs – Is There a Difference?

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Gorgonian Coral. Credit Peter Marriott NIWA[/caption] New Zealand’s Benthic Protection Areas (BPAs) are internationally-recognised as a type of Marine Protected Area (MPA). The IUCN recognises seven categories of MPAs and BPAs meet...

OpenSeas answers your questions simply

OpenSeas continues to attract more and more users each month as the single source of reliable information on New Zealand’s key commercial fish species. At the end of its first year, the site continues to generate over 85 percent new visitors each month, with 60...

MSC validates New Zealand seafood sustainability

With seventeen New Zealand fisheries recertified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in September, some 50 percent of New Zealand’s wild marine catch now holds this gold standard of sustainability. Only 12 percent of the world’s wild-caught seafood has MSC certification...

Fisheries New Zealand sustainability round

This year’s sustainability round, announced by Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash last week, saw 11 catch limits increase and 12 decrease. A decrease in catch has very real consequences for fishing families and should not be taken lightly, however we must be prepared to act...

Skipper of the month – Jake McFedries

Fishing has always been an integral part of Jake McFedries’ life. With a father who spent a fair amount of time recreationally fishing, McFedries practically grew up on the water. Being surrounded by boats and anglers and with his own love for the...

Revolutionising ocean forecasting - the Moana Project

The Tasman Sea is warming at one of the fastest rates on earth, bringing widespread implications for the marine environment. Despite New Zealand having one of the largest Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) in the world, there is limited information available to measure,...

New Zealand hoki quota owners proactively choosing to reduce catch

New Zealand hoki quota owners proactively choosing to reduce catch

Quota owners in the New Zealand hoki fishing industry have announced today (26/9/2018) they have proactively chosen to reduce the amount of hoki they will catch next year, in response to changing patterns they are observing in one of the five hoki...

Increased catches from deepwater fisheries supported by science

Increased catches from deepwater fisheries supported by science

Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash today (19/9/2018) announced his decisions on changes to fisheries catch limits from 1 October 2018.

Thirty-two catch limits were reviewed in this sustainability round. Four deepwater fisheries were reviewed and each had their Total Allowable Commercial Catch... Read more

The Squid Fishery and New Zealand Sea Lions

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Figure 1: Location of sea lion breeding sites in New Zealand. The Auckland Islands breeding site is the one that intersects with the squid fishery. Source: DOC Threat Management Plan (left) and Tamzin Henderson (right).[/caption] What’s causing the...

Report on sea-trials of Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD) to deter seabirds from risk of trawl net capture

J Cleal and R Wells - 22 August 2018

Background

Between 2000 and 2005 there was growing awareness and understanding of interactions between seabirds and deepwater trawlers (e.g. greater than 28m in length)...

Skipper of the month - Elle Kibblewhite

Elle Kibblewhite has plenty of sea-faring achievements to her name. At 16, Elle began working with her Dad, Richard, cray fishing and set netting on Splashzone 2 during the summer. She also gained her commercial electrician’s trade certificate. Now 23, Elle has since gone...

Skipper of the Month:

Stephan Fridell – Skipper on Sealord’s Tokatu

After 40 days at sea and even longer away from his family, just moments after setting foot on dry land, Skipper Stephan Fridell received just what every Dad would be longing for – a huge bear hug from...

(reposted from the NZ Herald)

22 Feb, 2018

Comment | Scientists challenge sea lion research

From The New Zealand Herald 23 October 2017 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11935905

A new study by Dr Stefan Meyer from the University of Otago, published in the NZ Heraldrecently, claimed to have "game-changing" new evidence linking the decline of New Zealand sea lions to the Auckland Islands squid fishery.

As a group of scientists working...

Large-scale changes bring opportunity for further collaboration

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Photograph by Peter Marriott/NIWA[/caption] The seafood industry and the Ministry for Primary Industries continue to collaborate during the rollout of the Integrated Electronic Monitoring and Reporting System (IEMRS). The seafood industry is working with MPI on expectations that appear to be unnecessary, unworkable or that will...

Fish stocks on the rise

Increased biomass in red gurnard and orange roughy fisheries has seen a rise in catch limits.

The Ministry for Primary Industries announced the adjustments as part of their twice-yearly fisheries sustainability review. The orange roughy fishery - ORH3B Puysegur - south of Stewart Island has been reopened after the...

The story of New Zealand orange roughy: From the “poster child” of unsustainable fishing to Marine Stewardship Council assessment.

By P.L. Cordue and originally published on CFOOD. In the late 1970s, a “huge” new fisheries resource was discovered in deep water on the north Chatham Rise. In the early days, there was somewhat of a gold...

Marine Biodiversity Needs More Than Protection

To sustain the seas, advocates of marine protected areas and those in fisheries management must work together, not at cross purposes, urges Ray Hilborn. Reposted from Nature Magazine, 13 July 2016 On 1 September, government leaders, directors of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others will meet in Hawaii at the International Union for Conservation of Nature's World...

Ray Hilborn Asks If the Drive for MPA’s is Environmentally Shortsighted

Most NGO’s assume that Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s) are an unmitigated good, with little thought to their impact on the global food system. But, converting large areas of productive fisheries to no-take zones, while appealing to NGO’s, actually may increase global environmental degredation. The reason, says Professor Ray Hilborn in our latest video, is that marine protein...

One in four British children think haddock is a soccer player

Nearly a quarter of British children don’t know that haddock is a fish, thinking instead that it is the name of a soccer player. This misconception is almost laughable until one realizes that we are talking about the potential seafood consumers of tomorrow. Unfortunately the misconceptions don’t stop there. In a survey carried out by the...

‘Precision fishing’ trial confirmed to help the tiddlers

A new form of commercial fishing - precision seafood harvesting (PSH) - has improved the survival rates for by-catch, scientists involved in the New Zealand project said.The system - which uses a large, flexible PVC liner with specifically sized holes along its length, allows undersized fish to escape before...

Why fish is nature’s antidepressant

It is known to prevent against heart disease and is hailed as the secret to a long, healthy life. Now, researchers have found the Mediterranean diet can help people with depression, too. A study found people who followed the diet were happier, less stressed and reported an improved quality of life compared to those who ate fewer...

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