Fisheries

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 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 scientists have discovered the origins of cryptic markings found in Aotearoa New Zealand’s deep sea.

This NIWA-led, three-year project developed a high-tech protype system to minimise bycatch of unwanted species in trawl gear.

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.

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.

Casal2 is an advanced software package developed by NIWA for modelling the population dynamics of marine species.

NIWA is determining the impact of fisheries on the aquatic environment. This will inform an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management and the development methods to mitigate this impact.

NIWA aims to develop and apply standardised methodologies to monitor and assess international fisheries outside the New Zealand EEZ and determine the environmental effects of fishing in these areas.

To get the most benefit from a fish stock in the long term, we need to maximise our yield without damaging the fish population we rely on.

As New Zealanders search for the summer sun, 38 researchers and crew will board RV Tangaroa tomorrow for a six-week science voyage deep into the waters of Antarctica.

Initial data suggests careful handling of released snapper could help fishers save thousands of fish annually.