On 1 July 2025, NIWA merged with GNS Science to become Earth Sciences New Zealand.

Fisheries

Balancing the sustainability of our fisheries stocks and the impacts of fishing on the environment with the economic opportunities

  • BAFF_banner_image

    The Bio-Acoustic Fish Fence

    Research Project
    Investigating the effectiveness of an acoustic bubble-screen in minimising the movement of pest fish
  • Tagging sharks in Fiordland 2

    Tagging Fiordland sharks to monitor climate change

    Media release
    Tracking changes in broadnose sevengill sharks' behaviour in a warming climate.
  • Blue cod and kitten

    What do kittens and blue cod have in common?

    Media release
    Strange fish behaviour has been captured by NIWA scientists
  • Boat ramp surveys boost knowledge of recreational fishery

    Media release
    NIWA gathers information about fishing practices and the catch of an estimated 600,000 people who participate in recreational fishing every year.
  • NIWA marine bio tile

    NIWA Biodiversity Memoir 136 - The Marine Biota of Aotearoa NZ

    New Zealand’s marine biodiversity checklist has been updated, representing an increase of 3,630 known living species since the turn of the century.
  • Recreational fishing

    Research Project
    Understanding the trends in recreational fisheries is key to ensuring sustainable fisheries across the country.
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    Improved sustainability of the demersal line fishery in Tonga

    Research Project
    The Tongan deepwater demersal line fishery is a valuable source of income, livelihood, and social well-being for the people of Tonga. The fishery has a history of boom-and-bust cycles with fluctuating catches and poor economic returns.
  • NIWA unravelling impacts on marine life after Cyclone Gabrielle

    Media release
    NIWA are studying the ocean off Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay to see how Cyclone Gabrielle has impacted the health of fisheries habitats and seabed ecosystems.
  • NIWA solves seafloor mystery

    Media release
    NIWA scientists have discovered the origins of cryptic markings found in Aotearoa New Zealand’s deep sea.
  • Novel underwater selection tools for environmentally and economically sustainable fishing

    Research Project
    This NIWA-led, three-year project developed a high-tech protype system to minimise bycatch of unwanted species in trawl gear.
  • NIWA’s freshwater ecologists helping regional councils remove the barriers to fish migration

    News article
    About 76 per cent of indigenous freshwater fish species, that’s 39 out of 54, are threatened with extinction or at risk of becoming threatened.
  • Snapper

    Open wide: snapper teeth secrets

    News article
    NIWA and University of Auckland masters student Georgia Third is getting up close and personal with snapper guts and teeth to understand the differences between biologically distinct snapper populations in New Zealand.