Science Centres: Fisheries

NIWA conducts vital research for the Ministry of Fisheries on the status of hoki stocks, which support New Zealand’s largest fishery.

Our latest assessment of the western hoki stock shows that current hoki biomass is hovering around 20% of the ‘unfished’ biomass (i.e., the theoretical biomass if the stock wasn’t fished). Anything below 20% is considered undesirable. We found some early signs of an improvement in recruitment, from low levels in 1995–2001, back to average levels in 2002–04.

Biomass for the eastern stock currently stands at 33–49% of the unfished biomass. This is a healthier level than the western stock, but is still almost the lowest on record. Recent recruitment for this stock has been average.

These results suggest that hoki stocks should increase at current catch levels, unless recruitment is poor. Because hoki recruitment is very variable and drives changes in the fishery, careful monitoring is required.