Southern Blue Whiting Fish Stocks In Good Health
The Deepwater Group today welcomed the Minister for Primary Industries’ decision to raise the catch limit in the main
southern blue whiting fishery near Campbell Island from 30,000 tonnes to 40,0000 tonnes.
“This is the main southern blue whiting fishery and the very healthy state of the stock means that we can continue to
harvest sustainably from it into the future,” says George Clement, Chief Executive of Deepwater Group which is an
alliance of quota owners in New Zealand’s deepwater fisheries.
The decision comes after the Ministry for Primary Industries’ 2014 stock assessment which confirms this southern blue
whiting stock is healthy and continues to increase in size.
“The decision to increase the catch limit is based on reliable and independent science which gives confidence that we
can increase the sustainable harvest level,” says Mr Clement.
In addition, rather than wait another three years for the next survey of southern blue whiting stocks, the Ministry and
industry will undertake the next survey in 2015 to confirm the state of the stocks.
Mr Clement said the southern blue whiting fishery fleet also recognises the importance of minimising environmental
impacts, particularly in relation to New Zealand sea lions which breed on Campbell Island.
“After the previous season when no sea lion interactions occurred, an unprecedented number of sea lions arrived to feed
around southern blue whiting trawl nets during 2013, resulting in 21 males being accidentally caught. Four of these were
released alive.”
Mr Clement said industry immediately adopted additional measures to reduce sea lion captures and that these had been
supported in an independent review by global experts in sustainability.
The measures in place include: real-time monitoring and responses, minimising the time nets are on or near to the
surface, management of offal discharges, deployment of Sea Lion Exclusion Devices (SLEDs), and independent observers on
all vessels.
“In 2012 there were no captures, but we faced a real challenge in 2013 when hungry males turned up in numbers. Our
objective is zero captures. We monitor the fishery daily and, when large numbers of sea lions turned up to feed off our
nets in 2013, everyone involved worked together to minimise captures. All vessels in the fishery carry Ministry for
Primary Industries’ observers and their feedback is invaluable on how we can avoid these unwelcome interactions,” he
says.
“We have also thrown our support behind the Government’s call for a Threat Management Plan for New Zealand sea lions in
response to the continued decline in pup production in the Auckland Islands’ population and confirmation that hundreds
of sea lion pups are dying each year due to disease, probably Klebsiella pneumoniae.
ENDS