Science Centres: Fisheries

Amelia Connell has seen a lot of small midwater fish, krill, and squid in various stages of digestion.

Five NIWA staff are sifting through the stomach contents of over 8000 fish collected from the Chatham Rise during a trawl survey in January.

Amongst the more unusual finds are ling stomachs pierced by the dorsal fin spine of bellowsfish. It seems the ling survive and their stomachs heal around the offending spine.

In all, some 50 000 stomachs from about three dozen species will be analysed by the end of 2007. The work will contribute to the development of a model of how species relate to each other and to the environment on the Chatham Rise. Ultimately, this understanding should help fisheries managers considering what might happen if there were a change, for example, in quota or the climate.

The fish will be caught by RV Tangaroa, and collected on industry vessels by Ministry of Fisheries observers. The project is funded by MFish.