Submission: Review of sustainability measures for Snapper and Trevally for 2026/27

ELI has submitted on the Review of sustainability measures for Snapper and Trevally for 2026/27.

The consultation document contains proposed options as to SNA 2 management (Options) and seeks additional feedback from stakeholders on broader issues.

SNA 2 is a major New Zealand inshore fisheries management area for snapper (Pagrus auratus), stretching along the east coast of the North Island from Gisborne down to Wellington/Makarā

ELI has filed two judicial review proceedings challenging the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of crayfish in CRA 1. In both instances the High Court found for ELI. These cases have highlighted several issues including the role of predators such as crayfish in coastal ecosystems and the link between the overfishing of predators and the presence of kina barrens in the northeast of New Zealand.

The reduced abundance of predators can contribute to the formation of kina barren areas. While much of the available information describing the relationship between fishing and kina barrens comes from north-eastern New Zealand, due to the similarity of the habitat and the ecological role of snapper as predators, it is reasonable to assume that the findings in north-eastern New Zealand are relevant to SNA 2.

Despite FNZ acknowledgment of this point, none of the Options proposed allow for a reduction in TAC, but instead, most options seek to substantially increase the existing TAC by as much as 50%. The Options as proposed appear to run contrary to the provisions in the Fisheries Act which, within the circumstances as laid out in the discussion paper, require a more precautionary approach.

In ELI’s view, two of the three Options as currently developed present significant risks of kina barren proliferation, as has occurred within SNA 1. Emerging science on Snapper predation on kina provides strong support for the need to avoid kelp loss to prevent ecosystem collapse. It is likely that kina are contributing to kelp forest loss and that high densities of kina will prevent kelp forest recovery.