An orange roughy.
Photo: Mountains to Sea
A large area of the East and South Chatham Rise fishery is being closed to protect orange roughy spawning areas and support the species’ recovery in what the Oceans and Fisheries Minister has described as a “significant jolt to the industry”.
Shane Jones said last year he made a significant cut to the commercial catch limit for the fishery.
Following further consultation he decided to close the fishery’s entire northwest spawning area during the peak spawning period for orange roughy, from early June to mid-July each year.
It encompasses spawning areas with the East and South Chatham Rise fishery area, which is a total of 4983 square kilometres.
Jones said the move was in response to stock assessments showing the fishery was under pressure and required careful management to rebuild.
Fisheries Minister Shane Jones.
Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
“It is important that orange roughy are given the chance to spawn and grow their population,” he said.
“The Chatham Rise orange roughy fishery has been valuable to our fishing industry for many years, supporting jobs and economic prosperity. Ensuring its sustainability means it will continue to benefit New Zealanders well into the future”.
Jones said it had been a difficult decision, but the proposal went through a consultation process with feedback from the industry and other stakeholders.
“Commercial fishers can catch orange roughy in other parts of the fishery during the seasonal closure, and throughout the whole fishery for the rest of the year,” he said.
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