There should continue to be a decent supply of New Zealand hoki in 2018/19 after the latest biennial trawl survey conducted by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) on the Chatham Rise found good recruitment from both the 2015 and 2016 year-classes.
The month-long survey measures the abundance of juvenile fish from both New Zealand hoki stocks – one that spawns on the west coast of the South Island, and one that spawns in Cook Strait.
Its results feed into a hoki population assessment, which supports a Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) consultation process before a decision on a total allowable catch (TAC) that is usually announced in late September, in time for the 1 October start to the fishing season, explained Richard O’Driscoll, NIWA fisheries scientist.
Hoki is a fish in demand, said NIWA, highlighting its use by fast food chains in fish burgers, as well as in supermarket freezers as fish fingers, crumbed or battered fillets. It is also sold in fresh formats.
Commercial fishing companies can catch up to 150,000 metric tons (MT) of hoki during the season and the institute highlighted that it is an important export earner, valued at NZD 229 million (USD 165.4 million, EUR 134.4 million) in 2017.
The hoki population has undergone some large fluctuations in the last few decades, due in part to some large annual changes in the numbers of juveniles. In the 2000s, TACs were drastically reduced from 250,000 MT to 90,000 MT following successive years of few younger fish appearing. Since then the quotas have gradually increased as the stock has grown, and this year it is set at 150,000 MT.
There are several additional pieces of scientific information that contribute to deciding the quota level, including:
• Results of an acoustic survey in Cook Strait and another biennial trawl survey in the Sub-Antarctic, both conducted by NIWA
• Information from commercial fishing vessels and MPI fishery observers who measure fish at sea and collect otoliths (earbones), which are used to determine the age of fish
• NIWA sampling of hoki in fish processing facilities
This information gets presented as the biological input to the stock assessment, usually in late February. From there, scientific modelling of all the available information is used to update the assessment of the stock, and a working group report is put together by MPI. The process also includes public consultation if changes are proposed.
The last step is a decision and announcement by the Fisheries Minister on the TAC for the next fishing year.
