Seafood to Avoid Hake Scientific name: Merluccius australis Other names: kehe, tiikati (Maori), whiting, merluza (Spain), haiku (Japan), seehecht (Germany) Ranking: E (Red - Worst Choice)

Icon Explanations

The main concerns with this fishery are: seabirds and marine mammals are caught as bycatch in the associated hoki fishery (NZ fur seals, albatrosses and petrels), quota boundaries not co-inciding with stock boundaries, the uncertainty of stock size and trends for West Coast and Sub-Antarctic populations, the lack of a management plan, mis-reporting of catches, and the rapid decline in Chatham Rise hake.

The fishery assessment plenary report states: For the Chatham Rise "Model results suggest a decline in biomass, with biomass in 2004 at about 35 percent Bo. Year class strengths from 1995 to 2000 are estimated to be weaker than average.ÉProjections [using average year class strength] estimated the risk of reducing the stock below 20%Bo in 2009 to be 88 percent with catches of 3616 tonnes and 28 percent with catchers of 1800 tonnes." For the sub-Antarctic stock "it is likely that the TACC is sustainable". For the West Coast South Island an uncertain stock assessment "suggested current biomass was between 30 percent and 70 percent Bo.... [and] current catches appear sustainable in the short term" (MFish 2007, p342).

Market: The main export markets are Japan, Spain, Australia and Portugal, which were worth $42 million in 2006.

Status and sustainable yield
Status: Over-fished and declining on the Chatham Rise.
Annual catch limit: Set at 13,111 tonnes in 2005-06.
Recorded catch: Recorded landings of 9952 tonnes in 2005-06, which is the lowest level in over 10 years.
Population size: In 2004 about 35 percent of unfished size on Chatham Rise and could be between 30 and 70 percent on the West Coast of the South Island.
Stock trends: Declining on Chatham Rise, slow decline or stable in Sub-Antarctic; unknown on West Coast.

Fishing method
Method: Bottom and mid-water trawling. Hake are targeted around the Chatham Rise and Sub-Antarctic Islands.
Habitat damage: Impact of trawling on species diversity and bottom community structure.
Bycatch: Hake is caught as bycatch in the West Coast hoki fishery. The hoki fishery also kills hundreds of NZ fur seals and hundreds of albatrosses and petrels each year. The seabirds killed include nine species of which several are globally threatened species, including black-browed albatross, Buller's albatross and white-chinned petrel.
Ecological effects: The dumping of offal and other fish waste during fish processing at sea has an ecological impact. There is also a loss of bottom-dwelling invertebrate diversity due to bottom trawl fishing.

Management
Stock assessment: Quantitative stock assessment for Chatham Rise, West Coast and Sub-Antarctic stocks.
Management plan: No.
Quota Management Species: Yes, since 1986.

Biology
Distribution: Found in waters around the South Island at depths of 200-800m.
Maximum age (years): 25
Age at sexual maturity: 6-10
Growth rate: Moderate.
Reproductive output: Medium to high.
Age exploited: 2

References: Report from the Fishery Assessment Plenary, May 2007: stock assessments and yield estimates. Part 2: Hake to Paua, Science Group, Ministry of Fisheries; Guidebook to New Zealand Commercial Fish Species, Revised Edition 1990, NZ Fishing Industry Board; SeaFIC website 2004.

This page was updated on 9 November, 2007