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Seafood with Concerns
PilchardScientific name: Sardinops sagax
Other names: mohimohi (Maori), sardine, pillie
Ranking: D (Amber - Concerns)
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Description: Jointly with kina, anchovy and sprats, pilchard has the highest ecological ranking of any New Zealand commercial fishery and is therefore one of the best fish choices. Only recently identified as a separate species, the NZ pilchard is a short-lived fish mainly targeted by purse seiners, but also beach seine and lampara nets. In 1995 some populations were severely impacted by a natural mass mortality, thought to have been caused by a virus.
The main concerns with this fishery are: the unknown sustainability of the current catch level, the absence of research, the unreliability of the estimated maximum current yield (MCY), the failure to assess the impact of the fishery on pilchard predator species including large fish, marine mammals and seabirds, and the lack of a management plan.
The fishery assessment plenary report states: "No estimates of current biomass are available. Recent catches from northeast North Island, and the TACC for PIL1 are higher than the 660t MCY [maximum current yield] estimate.. However, the MCY estimate is not considered reliable. It is not known if the current catch is sustainable, or is at a level that will allow the stock to move towards a size that will support the MSY [maximum sustainable yield]." (Fish, 2007, p.673).
Market: Exported to Asia with some locally available in New Zealand.
Status and sustainable yield
Status: Unknown.
Annual catch limit: A catch limit was introduced at 2,485 tonnes in 2001-02.
Recorded catch: Reported landings of 1010 tonnes in 2005-06, less than half the previous year's landings.
Population size: Unknown.
Stock trends: Annual landings have fluctuated from between 25 tonnes to 1,491 tonnes in the last 16 years.
Fishing method
Method: Purse seine, beach seine and lampara nets.
Habitat damage: Low impact from fishing methods.
Bycatch: Associated with anchovy, jack mackerel (in north) and sprats (in south).
Ecological effects: Mainly the impact of removing a prey species for larger fish, seabirds and marine mammals, as has happened overseas. Pilchards have also been affected by mass mortality events.
Management
Stock assessment: No quantitative stock assessment and no current directed research.
Management plan: No.
Quota Management Species: Yes, since 2002.
Biology
Distribution: Widespread in inshore waters around the North Island and northern South Island.
Maximum age (years): 9
Age at sexual maturity: 2
Growth rate: Relatively fast growing.
Reproductive output: High.
Age exploited: 2
References: Pilchard biology and fisheries in New Zealand, and a review of pilchard biology, fisheries and research in the main world fisheries, LJ Paul et al, NZ Fisheries Assessment report 2001/37, NIWA, July 2001; Report from the Fishery Assessment Plenary, May 2007: stock assessments and yield estimates. Part 3: Pilchard to Yellow-eyed Mullet. Science Group, Ministry of Fisheries; Guidebook to New Zealand Commercial Fish Species, Revised Edition 1990, NZ Fishing Industry Board.
This
page was updated on 22 February, 2006 |
