Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Annual Review 2012

AEBAR 2012: Research themes
2. Research themes covered in this document
The Ministry has identified four broad categories of research on the environmental effects of fishing
(Figure 2.1): bycatch and fishing-related mortality of protected species; bycatch of non-protected
species, primarily non-QMS fish; modification of benthic habitats (including seamounts); and various
ecosystem effects (including fishing and non-fishing effects on habitats of particular significance for
fisheries management and trophic relationships). Other emerging issues (such as the genetic
consequences of selective fishing and the impacts of aquaculture) are not dealt with in detail in this
synopsis but it is anticipated that those that turn out to be important will be dealt with in future
iterations. A fifth theme for this document is MPI research on marine biodiversity. The research has
been driven largely by the Biodiversity Strategy but has strategic importance for fisheries in that it
provides for better understanding of the ecosystems that support fisheries productivity.
Our understanding is not uniform across these themes and, for example, our knowledge of the
quantum and consequences of fishing-related mortality of protected species is much better developed
than our knowledge of the consequences of mortalities of non-target fish, bottom trawl impacts, or
land management choices for ecosystem processes or fisheries productivity. Ultimately, the goal of
research described in this synopsis is to complement information on fishstocks to ensure that the
Ministry has the information required to underpin the ecosystem approach to fisheries management
envisaged in Fisheries 2030. Stock assessment results have been published for many years in Fisheries
Assessment Reports, and Final Research Reports, and the Annual Report from the Fishery Assessment
Plenary. Collectively, these provide a rich and well-understood resource for fisheries managers and
stakeholders. In 2005, an environmental section was included in the hoki plenary report as part of the
characterisation of that fishery and to highlight any particular environmental issues associated with the
fishery. Similar, fishery-specific sections have since been developed for other working group reports
and the plenary, including many fisheries for highly migratory species and the trawl fisheries for
scampi and squid, but work on environmental issues has otherwise been more difficult to access for
fisheries managers and stakeholders. The Ministry is, therefore, looking at improving ways to
document, review, publicise, and integrate information from environmental assessments with
traditional fishery assessments. This will rely heavily on studies that are published in Aquatic
Environment and Biodiversity Reports and Final Research Reports but, given the overlapping
mandates and broader scope of work in this area, also on results published by other organisations. The
integration of all this work into a single source document analogous to the Report from the Fishery
Assessment Plenary will take time and not all issues will be covered for some years.
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