Fisheries

Robust science is critical to the sustainable use of New Zealand's significant marine and freshwater fisheries. New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is the fifth-largest in the world and home to over 16,000 marine species.

130 of those species are fished commercially, earning the country $1.5 billion in export receipts each year. Balancing the sustainability of our fisheries stocks and the impacts of fishing on the environment with the economic opportunities they offer is an ongoing challenge.

Fisheries services

NIWA is the main provider of fisheries resource surveys, catch monitoring and stock assessment research for New Zealand fisheries, and has been engaged across the world to provide advice, review, training and services in these areas.

Fisheries tools and resources

NIWA provides software and systems to analyse fisheries.

Fisheries research projects

Find out more about some of our fisheries-related work.

Feature

Seafood sector

NIWA's seafood sector work comprises our fish, fisheries and aquaculture research and consultancy.

Shark survival tale

15 October 2018

As part of a Pacific-wide study, NIWA is measuring the survival rate of sharks returned to the sea by commercial tuna fishers.

Double trouble from oyster pathogens

8 October 2017

The spread of Bonamia ostreae from Marlborough Sounds to oyster farms in Big Glory Bay (Stewart Island) could spread to the valuable wild oyster population.

Guidelines for sampling freshwater fisheries

This is an overview of the guidelines currently available about how to sample freshwater fishes in New Zealand.

Fisheries stock assessments

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.