Fisheries New Zealand has just released a discussion paper on the sustainability of blue cod.
It comes after a recent survey of Foveaux Strait revealed the fish species had declined by more than 57% since 2020 and that the stock in Foveaux Strait had been "seriously overfished".
"Catches of blue cod have consistently declined for the past 20 years," the document said.
"A skewed sex ratio in blue cod populations is considered to indicate overfishing and has implications for spawning success and recruitment."
The report said there were serious "sustainability concerns" and presented three options for discussion: keep the total allowable catch (TAC) at the same level, or reduce it by 16% or 38%.
The report said the status quo might not be "consistent with the requirement to maintain the stock at or above this target".
"Fishing mortality in the Foveaux Strait part of the fishery in 2023 was nearly seven times higher than the target reference fishing mortality, indicating that overfishing is occurring."
At the moment, the TAC is 925 tonnes a year, with 800 tonnes set aside for commercial interests.
Reducing the TAC by 16% was the "industry-preferred option", the report said, as it would reduce fishing pressure to "improve sustainability and the likelihood of population rebuild".
But it also noted if the TAC reduction was not less than present catch rates, it ran the risk of the commercial catch “chasing the fishery down” to below the limits.
Reducing the TAC by 38% would reduce catch to a level that "recognises potential environmental change, such as marine heatwaves, which may be influencing blue cod recruitment", but also would reduce "economic value in the short term" and would "likely require reduced recreational limits".
The report also proposed a "traffic light rating" be considered to determine the TAC: "green" areas would be those with "healthy blue cod stocks", "orange" would be areas "rebuilding in the right direction or declining from healthy levels" and red would be areas that were "in trouble".
Changes to the recreational controls were not being proposed as part of this review.
Submissions on the proposal close on July 29.
