Species Fact Sheet. New Zealand hoki. Macruronus novaezelandiae

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1 Species Fact Sheet New Zealand hoki Macruronus novaezelandiae Authors: Barry Weeber, Karli Thomas, and Cat Dorey September 2010

2 New Zealand hoki Macruronus novaezelandiae Other names: Whiptail, blue hake, blue grenadier (Australia), langschwanz-seehecht (Germany), merluse (France), merluza azul (Spain), nasello azzurro (Italy) The hoki fishery is now New Zealand s second largest fishery, after quota cuts were implemented following a rapid downward trend in the stock size. The fishery has been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, however two seperate appeal panels have found that the the fishery did not deserve its sustainability tick. Many key issues with the fishery including overfishing of juveniles, highly destructive fishing methods, and the death of hundreds of fur seals and seabirds each year have not been resolved. Distribution and biology Hoki is a deepwater species which is found throughout the New Zealand EEZ from Sub- Antarctic waters to the top of the North Island. Hoki can be found from depths of 10 m to over 900 m with the greatest abundance at m. Juvenile fish tend to be more abundant in shallower waters with large adult fish predominantly found in waters deeper than 400 m. 1 Hoki are also caught in South-East Australian trawl fishery and on the Patagonian Shelf off Argentina. Hoki is considered to be highly vulnerable to fishing. 2 Hoki males grow up to about 1.15 m in length while females grow to about 1.3 m and up to 7 kg in weight. 3 Hoki can live to about 25 years, but very few fish older than 8 years are left in the fished population. Hoki reach maturity at 3 5 years (60 65 cm for males and cm for females). Hoki is divided into two populations (western and eastern stocks) which are based on two main spawning grounds (Hokitika Canyon, West Coast of the South Island and Cook Strait Canyons). Additional spawning areas occur off Puysegur Point and Pegasus and Conway Canyon near Kaikoura. Young fish are found on the Chatham Rise while adult fish are found on the Sub-Antarctic Plateau and on the Chatham Rise. Fishery and economic value The hoki fishery is New Zealand s second largest fishery by value or catch limit, with export value of NZ$156 million in Much of the catch is exported to China for further processing and then re-exported into Europe and the USA. 4 Until recently the main hoki fishery operated from mid-july to late August from Hokitika Canyon north on the West Coast of the South Island where hoki aggregate to spawn. A second major spawning area occurs in the Cook Strait canyons where the fishery runs from late June to mid-september peaking in July and August. Outside the spawning fishery there are substantial catches on the Chatham Rise and a smaller fishery on the Sub-Antarctic Plateau. The Chatham Rise fishery generally has constant catch rates across all months except July September when catches are lower because the fish move to their spawning areas. In the Sub-Antarctic, catches typically peak in April June. There is also a small East Coast North Island hoki fishery. 2

3 Hoki quota ownership The hoki fishery is managed under the New Zealand quota management system, which means that the Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) is subdivided amongst companies who own quota shares in perpetuity. The major ownership, or leased ownership, of hoki quota is Sealord (30%), Sanford (15%), Te Ohu Kaimoana (TOKM)/Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd (10%), Amaltal (17%), Talley Fisheries Ltd (3%), Independent (8%), Vela Fisheries (7%) and United (2%). Sealord is jointly owned, 50% by Japanese fishing company Nippon Suisan Kaisha (Nissui) and 50% by Aotearoa Fisheries Ltd, which is owned by TOKM. Amaltal is owned by Talley Fisheries Ltd. In 2006 the value of hoki quota was estimated to be NZ$627 million. 5 Just over half the hoki fishing effort is carried out by New Zealand owned and operated vessels, while the rest is by vessels chartered from Russia, Ukraine, Japan, Korea, Norway and Poland. Key concerns with the hoki fishery Hoki stocks There have been serious concerns for the Western hoki stock (West coast of the North and South Islands and Sub-Antarctic) over the past years years, following a period of low recruitment ( ) and high fishing pressure that resulted in the stock declining to 19 21% of the unfished level (B 0 ) in The smaller Eastern stock (East coast of the North and South Islands including Chatham Rise and Cook Strait) dropped down to 35% of B 0. These declines required massive cuts to the total allowable commercial catch (TACC) limit. Between the TACC was 250,000 t for all of New Zealand s EEZ (except for around the Kermadec Islands) but after this time dramatic cuts brought this down to just 90,000 t from October The TACC had a small increase to 110,000 t from 1 October 2009 and the Ministry of Fisheries is now proposing a further increase to 120,000 t. The 2010 assessment shows that the stocks have partly recovered. 6 The western hoki population is estimated to be at between 29 63% of B 0 while the smaller Eastern population (Chatham Rise & Cook Strait) is considered to be at levels around 43 71% of B 0. Both stocks are now well above the level that will provide the maximum sustainable yield (Bmsy; estimated at about 25% of B 0 but this level is considered too risky to be the target for hoki), and are partly within the management target range (35 55% of B 0 ) for the stocks. The eastern stock is expected to remain steady over the next 5 years while the western stock is expected to increase if the current catch levels remain constant, but the Ministry of Fisheries is proposing to increase catches. There are uncertainties in this assessment particularly with regard to the decline in the Chatham Rise hoki survey, interpretation of other research indices, and the high catch of juvenile fish (see below). Trawling Hoki is caught by bottom trawls and large-opening mid-water trawls. Bottom trawls mainly target non-spawning aggregations on the Chatham Rise and Sub-Antarctic Plateau, while mid-water trawls mainly target spawning aggregations in the Cook Strait and off the West Coast of the South Island. In the last 8 years there has been an increase in vessels using trawl gear with double nets (twin-rigs), and even triple rigs, in bottom trawls. Over the last 5 years there have been around 5,000 8,000 bottom trawls and 1,000 4,000 mid-water trawls 3

4 annually targetting hoki, but the proportion of bottom trawls has been increasing and now represents 80% of the effort. 7 In addition,about half of the mid-water trawls come into contact with the seabed. 8 The impact on benthic communities, including the loss of biodiversity, from this widespread trawling has yet to be well investigated. Catch of small fish The fishery is heavily reliant on the catch of juvenile hoki on the Chatham Rise, the main nursery ground for young fish from both stocks. While a voluntary industry Code of Practice exists to protect juvenile hoki, this is not effective and a large proportion of the catch is composed of fish that have not yet matured enough to reproduce. 9 In 2009, about 57% of the catch on the Chatham Rise (where about 40% of the total hoki catch is caught) was made up of juvenile fish smaller than 65 cm. Other areas also have relatively high juvenile catch (<65 cm) about 31% by number in the west coast of the South Island (WCSI), 27% in the Cook Strait, and 25% of the Sub-Antarctic catch. Overall the bycatch of juveniles is about 40%. Marine mammal bycatch The hoki fishery drowns several hundred New Zealand fur seals annually 386 fur seals were estimated caught in the fishing season. 10 Similar levels were reported in the season. The hoki fishery has had a code of practice to reduce fur seal deaths in the fishery since 1989, but it with little effect. The West Coast seal colonies have been declining, and nationally the fur seal population is less than 10% of what it was in Seabird bycatch About seabirds are caught annually in the hoki fishery with over half of these caught in the fishery on the Chatham Rise. 11 However, a greater number of birds is likely to be killed as this estimate does not include birds that hit the trawl warps but are not caught in the trawl net. About half the species caught are albatrosses. The mix of albatross and petrel species caught varies with different fisheries but includes species listed on the IUCN Redlist 12 Buller's albatross (Thalassarche bulleri; Near Threatened), white-capped albatross (T. steadi; Near Threatened), Salvin's albatross (T. salvini; Vulnerable), Cambell's albatross (T. impavida; Vulnerable), sooty shearwaters (Puffinus griseus; Near Threatened), and white-chinned petrel (Procellaria aequinoctialis; Vulnerable). All these species are listed as protected in New Zealand. 13 Other threatened species bycatch Hoki fishery bycatch also includes a number of threatened fish species including basking sharks. 14 These sharks are listed on the IUCN Redlist as Vulnerable, as well as on CITES and Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species. 15 Impact on other fisheries The size of the hoki fishery means that the fishery impacts upon a range of other marine species, including other commercially caught species. There has been gross mis-reporting of 16, 17 bycatch species in the hoki fishery. 4

5 Hake, ling and silver warehou are all caught as bycatch in the hoki fishery, and the stocks have all been affected by mis-reporting of hoki bycatch. For example, the West Coast ling fishery has been consistently over-caught in the last 10 years. A recent review found that there was clear evidence of mis-reporting in the hoki fishery 18 The level of mis-reporting has varied between years and between species. The main problem species are ling and spiny dogfish. MSC a controversial certification The New Zealand hoki fishery was first recommended for certification under the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) programme by the certification body Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) in March Environmental groups objected to the certification, but assessment was eventually accepted and the certifcation awarded. However, the objections panel noted in their final report (December 2002) 20 : As is apparent from its conclusions and recommendations which follow, the panel has identified several aspects of the SGS assessment concerning Principle 2 which would have justified a refusal of certification as at the date of the assessment. At its 5-year re-assessment in April 2006, the fishery was recommended for re-certification by SGS, but only just scraped a pass for the impact of the fishery on the marine environment (Principle 2). Environmental groups again objected to this re-certification, and the objections panel (September 2007) 21 noted in its conclusions: It will be apparent from this report that there are several instances, in particular in relation to Performance Indicators , and , where the Panel found itself in disagreement with the Certification Body in relation to the scores awarded. In each case, the Panel members would have taken a more conservative approach and awarded a lower score. In the circumstances of this particular certification process, which received an overall passing score by the skin of its teeth, a lower score on almost any indicator would have resulted in a failure to recommend certification. However, according to the MSC s rules and procedures, the objection panel s view could not replace the certifier s assessment, and the re-certification was awarded in Given the ongoing environmental impacts of the fishery, New Zealand hoki is included on the Greenpeace seafood red list despite its certification by the MSC. Some retailers such as Waitrose UK 22 have removed hoki from sale in accordance with their own sustainable seafood procurement policies. References 1 New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries (2008). Report from the Fisheries Assessment Plenary, May 2008: Stock assessment and yield estimates. Ministry of Fisheries, Wellington, New Zealand. Accessed July 2009 at: 2 Froese R, Pauly D (editors) (2009). New Zealand hoki. FishBase website. Electronic version (06/2009). Accessed July 2009 at: 5

6 New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries (2008). Report from the Fisheries Assessment Plenary, May 2008: Stock assessment and yield estimates. Ministry of Fisheries, Wellington, New Zealand. Accessed July 2009 at: New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries (2007). Initial position paper: Hoki catch limits. Ministry of Fisheries, Wellington, New Zealand. Accessed July 2009 at: 457FB22C45D2/0/ipp_07_08_hoki.pdf New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries (2007). Initial position paper: Hoki catch limits. Ministry of Fisheries, Wellington, New Zealand. Accessed July 2009 at: 457FB22C45D2/0/ipp_07_08_hoki.pdf New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries (2010). Report from the Fisheries Assessment Plenary, May 2010 : Stock assessments and yield estimates Hoki. New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries, Wellington, New Zealand. Accessed Aug 2010 at: New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries (2008). Report from the Fisheries Assessment Plenary, May 2008: Stock assessment and yield estimates. Ministry of Fisheries, Wellington, New Zealand. Accessed July 2009 at: Horn PL (2009). CPUE from commercial fisheries for ling (Genypterus blacodes) in fish stocks LIN3, 4,5,6 and 7 from 2007, and a descriptive analysis update. New Zealand Fisheries Assessment Report 2009/1, New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries, Wellington, New Zealand. New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries (2010). Report from the Fisheries Assessment Plenary, May 2010 : Stock assessments and yield estimates Hoki. New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries, Wellington, New Zealand. Accessed Aug 2010 at: 10 Baird SJ (2007). Incidental capture of New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) in commercial fisheries in New Zealand waters, and New Zealand Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Report No 14. New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries, Wellington, New Zealand. Accessed August 2010 at: 11 Baird SJ, Smith MH (2007) Incidental capture of seabird species in commercial fisheries in New Zealand waters, and New Zealand Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Report No 9. New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries, Wellington, New Zealand. Accessed August 2010 at: 12 IUCN (2010). Red List of Threatened Species. Version (2010). Accessed August 2010 at: 13 Miskelly CM, Dowding JE, Elliot GP, Hitchmough RA, Powlesland RG, Robertson HA, Sagar PM, Scofield RP, Taylor GA (2008). Conservation status of New Zealand birds. Notornis; 55: Accessed August 2010 at: 6

7 14 Francis MP, Duffy C (2002). Distribution, seasonal abundance and bycatch of basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) in New Zealand, with observations on their winter habitat. Marine Biology 140(4): CITES (2008). Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna. Appendices I, II and III. CITES, Geneva, Switzerland. Accessed July 2009 at: 16 Bremner G, Johnstone P, Batson T, Clarke P (2009). Unreported bycatch in the New Zealand West Coast South Island hoki fishery. Marine Policy 33: Dunn A (2003). Revised estimates of landings of hake (Merluccius australis) for the west coast South Island, Chatham Rise, and Sub-Antarctic stocks in the fishing years to New Zealand Fisheries Assessment Report 2003/39. New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries, Wellington, New Zealand. 18 Bremner G, Johnstone P, Batson T, Clarke P (2009). Unreported bycatch in the New Zealand West Coast South Island hoki fishery. Marine Policy 33: MSC (2009). Home> Track a fishery> Certified fisheries> Pacific> New Zealand Hoki. MSC website. Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), London, UK. Accessed July 2009 at: 20 Laing M, Deriso R, Rice J, Connell M (2002). New Zealand Hoki Fishery Independent Panel decision, 16 Dec Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), London, UK. Accessed July 2009 at: 1/NZ_Hoki_Panel_Decision.pdf 21 Lodge M, Deriso R, Collie J (2007). Report of an independent objections panel into the further objections against proposed certification of the New Zealand hoki fishery filed by (1) WWF New Zealand and (2) Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand. Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), London, UK. Accessed July 2009 at: fishery/certified/pacific/new-zealand-hoki/reassessment-downloads- 1/NZHoki_OP_FinalReport_Sept2007.pdf 22 Partos L (2009). Seafoodsource website> News> Food service & retail> Q&A: Jeremy Langley, Waitrose. Accessed Sept 2010 at: 7