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Andy McKay @korimakoecology.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

What an absolute shit show. www.rnz.co.nz/news/environ...

rnz.co.nz

Tarakihi stocks in shocking state after decades of overfishing, advocates warn

The Environmental Defence Society (EDS) says the stocks of iconic New Zealand fish tarakihi are in a shocking state after decades of overfishing.

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Andy McKay @korimakoecology.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

I don't always agree with Raewyn Peart at EDS but apart from the bit about "industry aligned scientists" this is mostly bang on.

“Tarakihi is an iconic fish for many New Zealanders. Most of the catch is consumed here at home and is a staple in restaurants, supermarkets and fish and chip shops across the country.

“New information released by Fisheries NZ shows the stock along the eastern coast of the country has been declining since the 1940s and has been overfished for six decades.

“The western coast stock has also been in long-term decline, but the trend accelerated dramatically after 2017.

“The collapse of tarakihi highlights multiple failures in our quota management system which was tasked with keeping the stock healthy:

There has been a chronic lack of investment in fisheries science. Despite being managed under the quota management system for 40 years, the western tarakihi stock only this year received its first full stock assessment.
There has been excessive confidence in fisheries models based on patchy data and multiple assumptions. Earlier models significantly overestimated the size of the eastern stock.
Previous stock assessments failed to account for the impacts of climate change which have likely reduced tarakihi recruitment. This is despite decades of seawater warming, and a sharp increase in marine heatwaves since 2012, with an extreme event in 2017.
The science peer review process failed to identify errors in the 2022 eastern tarakihi model. The review process lacks independence, with industry-aligned scientists embedded within the process.
Management action has been far too slow. Catch limits for most of the western tarakihi stock have not changed since 1986. It has effectively been a case of setting the Total Allowable Commercial Catch and walking away.
Stock management areas do not align with biological stocks, making effective management difficult. In particular, the TAR 1 and TAR 7 management areas span both the western and eastern stocks. Fisheries NZ is only now consulting on their possible subdivision.
Tarakihi are harvested before they’re old enough to spawn. The…

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Andy McKay @korimakoecology.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

I've been involved in a lot of Science Working Groups. They contain MPI fisheries analysts and scientists, NIWA and other independent scientists, recreational advocates, eNGOs and industry scientists. To claim that working groups lack independence because of "industry aligned scientists" is absurd.

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