The fishing industry in New Zealand is based mainly on demersal species and is confined to the continental shelf which in many places is comparatively narrow. Prevailing westerly winds and the paucity of good harbours on the west coast are natural features which have encouraged greater concentrations of fishing boats and fishing activities on the east coast. The class of vessel found most suitable for New Zealand conditions is the motor trawler from 40–60 ft in length, and these vessels at times range many hundreds of miles in the course of their fishing. Technical advances such as the radio telephone, refrigeration, more powerful and more reliable engines, and electronic fishing aids are responsible for the increased range of fishing activities in recent years. In some ports the vessels still operate mainly on the daily basis but usually, where trawling is concerned and in all vessels fitted with freezers, the trips extend to a week at a time, while some refrigerated crayfish vessels in the southern part of New Zealand do trips of approximately one to two months' duration.

In 1964 there were 1,567 licensed fishing vessels and 2,744 fishermen employed in the industry. Of these vessels 270 were motor trawlers, 12 were Danish seiners, and 1,242 line and net boats; 19 boats were licensed to dredge oysters, 18 of which were for Foveaux Strait, and 19 boats were licensed in various ports to take mussels. 659 vessels were licensed for crayfishing, while 117 were licensed for other industries including pauas and scallops. Vessels normally are licensed for more than one method of fishing.

Trawlers landed 77 per cent and Danish seiners 4 per cent of the total wet fish, while 12 per cent was caught by lines and 7 per cent by set and drag nets.

The Fishing Industry Board Act of 1963 provided for the establishment of a Fishing Industry Board which came into force on 1 April 1964. This Board, with the functions and powers granted to it under the Act, will seek generally to promote the expansion and the efficiency of the fishing industry and to promote the export of quality fish and fish products. The Board consists of seven members, three of whom represent the three sections of the industry: fishermen, wholesalers, and retailers, and four independent members, one of whom is the chairman.

Part I of the Fisheries Act deals more specifically with the commercial aspects of fishing, and the following regulations set out in detail the controls imposed. The Commercial Fishing Regulations, 1963 deal with the conditions mainly applying to registration and permits. The Fisheries (General) Regulations 1950 include provisions covering net fishing, line fishing, trawling, Danish seining, crayfishing and, in fact, all those matters other than what is dealt with in the special regulations listed below covering separate fisheries. These are the Oyster Fishing Regulations of 1946; the Toheroa Regulations of 1955; and the Whitebait Regulations of 1964. At present seals are totally protected under the Seal Fishing Regulations of 1946, while whaling is covered by the Whaling Industry Act of 1935 and the Whaling Industry Regulations of 1961. Provisions of the Shipping and Seaman Act relating to survey requirements and to the manning scale apply, in particular cases, to fishing boats.

Up to 31 December 1963 there was in operation a system of restrictive licensing of fishing vessels, directed by the Sea Fisheries Licensing Authority appointed under the Fisheries Amendment Act of 1945. Following extensive inquiry by a Parliamentary Select Committee in 1962, the licensing procedure was changed to one of registration and permit using management as basis for conservation of stocks.

In pre-European times the Maori was a subsistence fisherman, catching marine fish with seine nets made of flax, or with lines; eels and lampreys with pots set in weirs; and whitebait and other species in nets. Shellfish were collected from the beaches and the shore. Prior to European settlement whales and seals were taken, seals between 1816 and 1840, by which time they had almost disappeared. The first shore whaling station was established in 1827, and in 1844 whale oil and other products were valued at some £50,000 on the London markets. Following European settlement, fishing for demersal species expanded as the population increased, the industry at first providing fish for local consumption only but, later, for export as well.

Today, trawling, Danish seining, and fishing by nets and by lines are the principal methods of taking the ordinary marine food fish, while crayfish are mainly caught in baskets or pots, and oysters, mussels, and scallops are taken in dredges. Other fishing methods are used in the case of whitebait which are taken in special nets in the lower reaches of many rivers, whereas rock oysters, paua, and toheroa are picked by hand. Together all these products and the merchandising of them comprise the fishing industry. The whaling industry with one station in Marlborough at Tory Channel, has ceased operations.

It is not necessary to take out a licence for marine species. Netting and fishing with lines are popular throughout New Zealand. More recently, particularly in the North Island, surf casting and skin diving have become popular; many fish such as snapper, kahawai, marlin, sharks, etc., are taken by these methods. Size limits and, in some cases, amateur catch limits apply, as the same species are also caught for sale by licensed fishermen.

Big game fishing is a major sport, with hire launches operating from many ports, such as Bay of Islands, Whangarei, Tauranga, Mayor Island, etc., during the season November to June. Striped marlin and mako shark are the principal species taken, other species including black and blue marlin, various tuna, and sharks. About 60 per cent of the fish are captured from boats operating from Bay of Islands and Tauranga areas.

The following table sets out the catches for the 1959–63 seasons:

Catches of big game fish increased spectacularly in 1961, when about double the earlier catches were taken. World big game fishing contests have been held in New Zealand waters, the most recent being in 1960.

by Brian Turnbull Cunningham, B.SC., Senior Fishery Officer, Marine Department, Wellington.

Various species of European and American game fish have been introduced into New Zealand with a view to establishing sport fisheries, because indigenous fish, except for the grayling (Prototroctes oxyrhynchus), which disappeared soon after settlement, were not suitable as sport fish. Today brown and rainbow trout (Salmo trutta and Salmo gairdnerii) and quinnat salmon (Onchorhynchus tschawytcha) provide most of the angling, but some perch (Perca fluvitalis) and a few Atlantic salmon (S. salar) are also taken.

Brown and rainbow trout have been introduced into rivers or lakes throughout New Zealand and are established in most waters suitable for them. Trout require hard gravels in which to spawn. In many lakes, where spawning conditions are lacking or inadequate in tributary systems, stocks of trout, usually rainbow, are maintained by releasing finger-lings either annually or every second year. Releases are made in certain of the Rotorua lakes and the coastal dune lakes of the North Island, and some of the back-country lakes of the South Island.

Trout have not established satisfactorily north of a line from East Cape through Thames and Huntly, probably due to the high winter temperatures. Between this line and another from North Taranaki to Hawke's Bay, rainbow are the principal sport fish, and south of this line, except for the Rangitikei River, and the back-country lakes of the South Island, brown are dominant. Browns are present in the Rotorua lakes and Lake Taupo, but they are more difficult to catch and therefore not really sought after by anglers. Suitable spawning conditions are not present in the papa areas of the east coast of the North Island, or from Wanganui through to Waitara, nor in the dune areas of the west coast of the North Island. Papa streams, if stocked, could carry limited stocks of trout.

Rainbow trout average 2–3 Ib in weight, and brown taken from the Rotorua lakes and Lake Taupo about 6 Ib. Browns from the North Island rivers average 2–3 Ib, but those taken in the more rugged country of the South Island, west of a line from Cape Campbell to Te Waewae Bay, where they are less numerous but larger, average 3–4 Ib. East of this line numerous, but small, browns are taken averaging 1–2 Ib in weight.

Most waters give catches of one to three fish per day (or 0.25 to 1.0 fish per hour), or the weight of fish taken is usually between 0.5 and 2 Ib per hour.

Quinnat salmon are taken between January and April from the rivers of the east coast of the South Island between the Waiau and the Clutha, but the Rakaia, Rangitata, and Waitaki Rivers are the principal salmon waters. The quinnat are taken by anglers as they run in from the sea and up the rivers on their way to the spawning grounds near the foothills of these snow-fed rivers. Perch are available in the south-east of the South Island, and the south and west of the North Island principally. They are taken during the normal angling season, but lakes on the west coast of the North Island have been opened for perch fishing over the winter period, when they can be more readily caught.

The fishing pressure is greatest in the south-west of the South Island and the centre of the North Island, being light in the extreme north and west of the South Island and negligible in North Auckland. The total amount of angling done in the South Island (about 660,000 hours per season) is about three-quarters of that of the North Island but three-quarters of the North Island effort is concentrated in the Taupo and Rotorua districts.

New Zealand's sport fisheries are managed by acclimatisation societies, and the Department of Internal Affairs acts as an acclimatisation society in the Rotorua, Taupo, and Southern Lakes districts. An angling licence is required and the fees are payable to the local society. During the 1962–63 angling season about 32,300 men's whole-season licences were issued; women's, boys', and short-term licences were also available, and the total angling revenue was about £181,800.

The angling season is usually from October to April where brown predominate, and November to April or later for rainbow waters, with the closed season occurring when trout and salmon spawn, i.e., usually from May to September. Lure restrictions, bag, and size limits may be varied in each acclimatisation district. As research work is completed, if local game-fish populations can stand increased exploitation, restrictions are relaxed and/or the season extended, e.g., Lakes Taupo and Rotorua are open all the year and certain other waters in the Rotorua and Southern Lakes Districts are open for angling for more than seven months.

Basic research on game-fish populations, mainly brown and rainbow trout, is carried out by scientists of the Marine Department on behalf of the acclimatisation societies and the Department of Internal Affairs. Departmental advisory officers assist with the implementation of research findings and undertake, where necessary, local investigations on angling populations to assist the particular society manage its fisheries efficiently.

The sexes are separate and generally occur in about equal numbers.

Most sharks and rays bear their young alive in an advanced stage of development after an embryonic period of six to 12 months. The skates and elephant fish, however, lay relatively few large eggs in horny capsules, depositing them on the sea floor.

The vast majority of bony fish shed several thousand very small transparent eggs, which float in the upper layers of the sea. Some species produce fewer eggs, which are attached to seaweed or rocks, etc. Spawning usually occurs in spring or summer, sometimes during the autumn. Hatching takes place within a few days, the incubation period depending on the temperature. The tiny larvae in their first few days live on their store of yolk, but when this supply is depleted they begin feeding on small planktonic organisms. At this early stage they are entirely planktonic and may be widely dispersed by means of currents.

by Lawrence James Paul, B.SC., Fisheries Division, Marine Department, Wellington.

• New Zealand Sea Anglers' Guide, Doogue, R. B., Moreland, J. M., Heath, E. W. (1961)
• A Treasury of New Zealand Fishes, Graham, D. H. (1956)
• Sea Angler's Fishes of New Zealand, Parrott, A. W. (1957)
• The Queer and Rare Fishes of New Zealand, Parrott, A. W. (1960).

Deep-sea representatives are not well known in New Zealand waters, but as the environment is uniform everywhere, they are likely to be very similar to those in other parts of the world. They live in waters of cold temperatures with no seasonal fluctuations, an absence of water currents, and no solar light.

Abyssal or bottom dwellers are not streamlined in shape; are usually dark in colour; and frequently have poorly developed eyes. They are all carnivorous, many having unusual methods of catching their prey, including the development of light-producing organs.

Bathypelagic or deep-swimming fish live beyond the continental shelf in the mid water below the sunlit zone. They are usually grey or silvery in colour and have large eyes, and often possess light organs. They characteristically undergo extensive vertical migrations, living in deep water by day and rising some hundreds of feet by night, being unaffected by changes in water pressure. Myctophids (lantern fishes) and some deep-water rat tails are typical of this region.

Demersal fish are dependent on the sea bottom for food and shelter and it is upon this group of fishes that the commercial fisheries are based, although interest is also shown in the exploitation of some pelagic species.

Species living on the continental shelf (depths to 600 ft or rather more) are extremely varied in shape and colour, but typically they are less streamlined and slower swimmers than the pelagic group and are usually red, brown, or grey – colours which act as good camouflage in their various environments. They do not migrate to any great extent. Their food consists of such items as shellfish, crabs, worms, and seaweed.

Sea-bottom topography also has an influence on the general distribution of fish. Rocky sea bottom attracts the greatest variety of species, but some are common over sandy or muddy bottom.

Most species living in rocky areas are weak swimmers, some being capable of only short, darting movements; many are solitary, especially the larger members of a species, while some swim in small schools just above the sea floor. Some are brilliantly coloured (e.g., the wrasses or false parrot fishes); some are eel-like (hagfish or blind eel, conger eel, moray eel); some have large heads and jaws (groper, John Dory); several species are spiny (gurnard, scorpionfish); while some do not resemble fish at all (seahorse, pipefish). The small fish of intertidal pools are adapted to surviving under continuous wave action, either by clinging to rocks by means of a ventral sucker (clingfish) or by sheltering under rocks or stones (blennies).

Fish characteristic of a sandy or muddy bottom tend to be flattened from above and are typified by flounders, rays, and stargazers. Their colours are usually grey or brown. Flounders are further protected from enemies by being capable of colour changes to match the sea floor. They also partially bury themselves in sand, a habit that is carried further by stargazers, sand eels, and lancelets.

Some coastal species, although classed as demersal, spend considerable periods in the middle depths. They resemble pelagic fish in their swimming ability and in their general colouring and shape, but they are mainly bottom feeders and they form small schools. A number of our commercial species are included in this class, such as snapper, tarakihi, mullet, moki, and trumpeter.