The CRA 2 fishery extends from Te Arai through the Hauraki Gulf and Bay of Plenty to East Cape. The current 173 tonnes total allowable catch (TAC) for the fishery was set in 2018. The current total allowable commercial catch (TACC) is 80 tonnes.

The 100 million quota shares representing the 80 tonnes TACC are distributed amongst 50 quota share owners. There are currently 19 CRA 2 Annual Catch Entitlement (ACE) owners and in 2019 there were 18 vessels reporting commercial catches. Quota shares are infrequently traded and a recent transfer was valued at a $1.08 million per tonne equivalent. CRA 2 ACE trades for $55/kg.

The main operating period for commercial vessels generally extends from June to January. The estimated landed value of the CRA 2 catch is $6.9 million (based on average port price paid to fishermen) and the industry sustains a number of processing and export companies in Whitianga and Auckland.

The current TAC allows amateur catches from this fishery. Potting and diving are the preferred methods, and there is a large recreational charter vessel industry catering to the sector.

Customary catch is conservatively estimated at 16.5 tonnes. Rock lobsters have cultural significance to local Maori and a large Maori population in the Bay of Plenty region ensures that rock lobster retains significant customary value.

The CRA 2 Rock Lobster Management Company Ltd (CRAMAC 2) is the representative commercial stakeholder group for this region. CRAMAC 2 has made significant investments in rock lobster research since its formation in 1995, including a comprehensive vessel logbook programme, tag and release projects, and sequences of intensive catch sampling to Ministry standards and specifications.

The CRA3 fishery extends from East Cape south to the Wairoa River.

The current 351.9 tonnes total allowable catch (TAC) is comprised of a 20 tonnes allowance for amateur catch, a 20 tonnes allowance for customary harvest, an 89 tonnes allowance for illegal removals; and a total allowable commercial catch (TACC) of 222.9 tonnes.

The TACC is distributed as 100 million quota shares amongst 52 quota share owners. Quota shares trade infrequently and are currently valued more than $1,000,000 per tonne equivalent. CRA3 annual catch entitlement (ACE) trades in the range $45 to $55 per kg. There are 32 CRA3 ACE owners and 25 commercial vessels operating in the CRA3 fishery.

There is significant Iwi involvement in quota share ownership and fishing. The commercial harvest has an approximate landed value of $19.5 million (based on average port price paid to fishermen). There are two processing plants in Gisborne, and product is also shipped to Tauranga and Auckland for processing and export.

Potting and hand gathering are the preferred amateur fishing methods.

Rock lobsters have great cultural significance to local Maori and there is a very high level of customary harvest activity. Customary removals are uncertain although an allowance of 20 tonnes was made in the 2020/21 TAC decision.

The CRA4 fishery extends from the Wairoa River on the east coast, southwards along the Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa and Wellington coasts, through Cook Strait and north to the Manawatu River.

The total allowable catch (TAC) is 513.8 tonnes and the total allowable commercial catch (TACC) is set at 318.8 tonnes. In setting that TAC, 35 tonnes were allowed for customary fishing; 85 tonnes to recreational and an allowance of 75 tonnes was made for illegal unreported removals.

The current 318.8 tonnes TACC is distributed as 100 million shares amongst 94 quota share owners. There are 46 CRA4 annual catch entitlement (ACE) owners. Quota shares trade infrequently but a recent valuation is $1,400,000 per tonne equivalent. CRA4 ACE trades at $55/kg on average.

The CRA4 commercial fleet comprised 45 vessels in 2019/20. Most vessels in the fleet operate from coastal bases in isolated rural areas on the Hawkes Bay and Wairarapa coastline. The CRA4 commercial catch supports several processing and export operations in Napier, Masterton, Wellington, and Auckland. The value of the commercial catch is estimated at $28 million in 2019/20.

Potting and hand gathering are the preferred methods for amateur fishers in this area. As in most CRA areas, most of amateur catch is taken in the summer months.

Aggregate customary harvest estimates for CRA4 are not available, but the reporting requirements associated with the implementation of the North Island Customary Regulations should enable more informed decision making in future.

The CRA5 fishery extends from the western side of the Marlborough Sounds across to Cape Jackson and then southwards to Banks Peninsula. There are three distinct regions of commercial fishing:

• Picton/Port Underwood
• Ward-Kaikoura-Motunau
• Banks Peninsula

A small number of commercial vessels also work the area from Nelson through to D’Urville Island. The bulk of the commercial catch is taken from the area bounded by Tory Channel in the north and Motunau in the south.

The total allowable catch (TAC) is set at 514 tonnes. 40 tonnes are allowed for amateur catch and 40 tonnes for customary catch. The total allowable commercial catch (TACC) is 350 tonnes. The allowance for illegal unreported removals is 37 tonnes.

The preferred methods for amateur fishing are potting and diving with underwater breathing apparatus. Recreational rock lobster fishing and the dive charter industry are both growing in the region.

There are 51 quota share owners in CRA5. Quota shares trade infrequently but the most recent valuation was $1,600,000 per tonne equivalent. There are 29 annual catch entitlement (ACE) owners and ACE is trading more than $50/kg.

The commercial rock lobster fleet comprised 31 vessels reporting catch in 2019/20. Many commercial vessels work off beaches between Port Underwood and Motunau. The landed value of the commercial catch is estimated at $30.5 million in 2019/20 (based on average port price paid to fishermen), and the fishery supports processing and export facilities in Kaikoura, Christchurch and Auckland.

The CRA5 industry members, through membership of their commercial stakeholder group CRAMAC 5, have encouraged and facilitated an ongoing dialogue with amateur fishing and dive clubs and with Iwi groups in the region. The responses to the process have been extremely encouraging in terms of co-operative research and management initiatives.

The region designated as CRA6 is geographically very large, being all waters within a 200 nautical mile radius of the Chatham Islands and Bounty Islands, but the area being fished is restricted to a relatively narrow coastal margin adjacent to the Chatham Islands coastline.

Previous Rock Lobster Fishery Assessment Working Group reports have noted that the CRA6 data are consistent with a stock model in which the biomass being fished is much smaller than the biomass of the contributing stock. The abundance of the standing stock in CRA6 is possibly more dependent on immigration of larger lobsters into the area than it is on recruitment and growth.

The most recent formal stock assessment was in 1996 (Breen & Kendrick 1998). This used alternative methods, including a depletion model and a constant-production model. Both models assumed a constant level of annual productivity is independent of the stock size and thus outside the realm of B_MSY approaches.

The total allowable catch (TAC) and total allowable commercial catch (TACC) remain unchanged since April 1998. For the 1998/99 fishing year a TAC of 370 tonnes was set. A total of 6 tonnes was set aside for amateur catch and 4 tonnes was provided for customary catch. The TACC was reduced from 400 tonnes to 360 tonnes in response to Ministry of Fisheries concerns over declining landings and declining catch per unit effort (CPUE).

CRA6 is unique in that unlike all other CRA management areas, two harvest methods are allowed for commercial fishing. The bulk of the TACC is landed from vessels using pots, but there are limited numbers of method concessions issued for the fishery and divers take quantities of lobsters in the summer months.

There are 53 CRA6 quota share owners. Mainland New Zealand interests own the majority of quota shares for which the most recent trades have been in the order of $840,000/tonne equivalent. There are 46 CRA6 ACE owners and average ACE trades have been ~$50/kg in recent seasons.

There are currently 39 vessels reporting CRA6 landings and the number of divers is unknown although only 5 of the original method exemptions issued to qualifying persons between 1990 and 1993 were current during 2018/19. Additional divers operate under the authority of permits in the name of the consent holders.

The landed value of the commercial catch in 2019/20 was approximately $29 million (based on average port price paid to fishermen). The fishery supplies processing and export facilities on the Chatham Islands and in Wellington, and Auckland.

The CRA6 Industry Association (CRAMAC 6) established a Fishermen’s Office at Waitangi in May 2000 and the NZ RLIC contracted an administrative officer trained by FishServe to co-ordinate the distribution and collation of Catch Effort Landing Returns and Monthly Harvest Reports for delivery to FishServe and to provide a range of additional administrative services to the Chatham Islands seafood industry.

CRAMAC 6 is managing a Vessel Logbook programme and industry-funded stock monitoring to collect growth, size frequency and abundance information.

The CRA7 fishery extends from the Waitaki River south along the Otago coastline to Long Point.

The CRA7 total allowable catch (TAC) is currently 126.2 tonnes. A total of 10 tonnes is provided for customary catch, 5 tonnes is set aside for amateur catch and 5 tonnes for illegal unreported removals. The total allowable commercial catch (TACC) is set at 106.2 tonnes. CRA7 quota shares trade infrequently but a recent valuation was $1,070,000/tonne equivalent. There are 27 quota share owners.

There are 9 CRA annual catch entitlement (ACE) owners and ACE trades at an average of $50/kg. There were 11 commercial vessels reporting in the 2019/20 fishing year. The landed value of the 2019/20 season catch is estimated at $8.3 million (based on average port price paid to fishermen). The CRA7 catch is processed and exported, or sold to the domestic market, by several Southland, Otago and Christchurch companies.

The CRA7 commercial season runs with a differential minimum legal size (MLS) which is a tail length of 127 mm for both male and female lobsters. The fishery is open to amateur fishing with a MLS regime of 54 mm tail width for males and 60 mm tail width for females.

The CRA8 fishery is the largest mainland fishery geographically. The region extends from Long Point south to Stewart Island and the Snares, the islands and coastline of Foveaux Strait, and then northwards along the Fiordland coastline to Bruce Bay. While the overall area is large almost all fishing occurs within 8 km of the shore.

A total allowable catch (TAC) of 1282.7 tonnes was set for the 2020/21 fishing year. A total of 29 tonnes is set aside for amateur catch and 30 tonnes is provided for customary catch. The total allowable commercial catch (TACC) is set at 1191.7 tonnes.

There are 146 CRA8 quota share owners and shares trade more than $1,800,000 per tonne equivalent. There are 76 annual catch entitlement (ACE) owners and for the 2019/20 season ACE was trading at $60/kg.

In the same period there were 65 commercial vessels reporting CRA8 landings. The CRA8 fleet operates in the most remote coastal areas of South Westland and Fiordland. The value of the landed catch is estimated to be $122.4 million (based on average port price paid to fishermen). The industry supplies processing and export operations in Te Anau, Riverton, Stewart Island, Invercargill, Bluff, Christchurch and Auckland.

The CRA9 fishery is geographically large but has the smallest TAC of any region. The fishery extends from north of Bruce Bay to the Kaipara Harbour, but commercial lobster fishing is constrained to the north-west coast of the South Island and the area between Patea and Kawhia, in particular the Taranaki coastline.

A formal stock assessment was done for CRA9 in 2012/13 and a new management procedure invoked a total allowable catch (TAC) of 115.8 tonnes. The 47 tonnes total allowable commercial catch (TACC) set in 1990 was increased to 60.8 tonnes in April 2014 and has been unchanged since.

When setting the CRA9 TAC a 20 tonnes allowance was made for recreational removals and 30 tonnes for customary.

There are 34 CRA9 quota share owners and shares very rarely trade. There are 9 annual catch entitlement (ACE) owners and in the most recent full season ACE traded up to $55/kg. In the 2019/20 season only eight commercial vessels reported CRA9 landings.

The estimated value of the landed catch was $5.2 million (based on average port price paid to fishermen). The industry supplies processing and export operations in Wellington, and Auckland.

Another species of rock lobster taken in New Zealand coastal waters is the packhorse rock lobster (Sagmariasus verreauxii), which grow to a much larger size than red rock lobster and has a different shell colouration and shape, with a green shell, less prominent spines and smoother tail segments. The packhorse fishery (PHC1) is managed as a single stock for all of New Zealand (see graphic below).

The New Zealand packhorse rock lobster landings are modest compared with the red rock lobster fishery. PHC1 quota share owners funded a characterisation and assessment of the fishery, with the first successful stock assessment conducted in 2020, using a biomass dynamics model based on historical commercial and recreational catches and a time series of CPUE. Overall, the assessment suggested that since a period of overfishing in the 1960s and 1970s, lower catches and increased recruitment or productivity of the stock in recent years have rebuilt the packhorse stock to near estimates of historical biomass. In 2021, the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries recognised the health of the packhorse fishery, increasing the total allowable commercial catch (TACC) to 49.3 tonnes, the first adjustment since the 40.3 tonnes TACC was set in 1990. The Minister confirmed a total allowable catch (TAC) of 79.3 tonnes, and also set allowances for customary (10 tonnes), recreational (15 tonnes) and other mortality (5 tonnes).

The 2022/23 PHC1 TACC of 49.3 tonne is distributed amongst 60 quota share owners. Twenty eight permit holders reported PHC1 catches in 2021. Catches of this species are almost entirely taken along the north and east coasts of the North Island, overlapping with the red rock lobster fishery in CRA 1 and CRA 2. The estimated landed value of the commercial catch was $2.34 million (based on average port price paid to fishermen in 2020/21).

Recreational catch of packhorse rock lobster is very uncertain, with three estimates available; a 2011/12 National Panel Survey (9.84 tonnes ±  tonnes), a 2013/14 East Northland Survey (4.9 tonnes ± 1.5 tonnes), and 2017/18 national panel survey (28.66 tonnes ± 43.8 tonnes). The 2013/14 East Northland Survey figure was doubled to estimate catch for the whole area where packhorse rock lobster is commonly caught, to give an estimate of 10 tonnes at that time. The 2017/18 National Panel Survey was considered unrealistically high, particularly since commercial catch for the same year was 40.1 tonnes, so recreational catch of packhorse rock lobster is assumed to be 10 tonnes. Recreational fishers primarily gather packhorse rock lobster by pot or hand (freediving or UBA).

No reliable estimates are available for customary catch, with the Mai i nga Kuri a Wharei ki Tihirau Iwi Fisheries Forum indicating that tangata whenua tend to combine red rock lobster and packhorserock lobster when reporting customary catch, but landings are thought to be low. The progressive implementation of reporting procedures within the North Island Customary Regulations might assist in future evaluations of customary harvest for the PHC1 fishery.

The quantity of packhorse rock lobster illegally taken and sold in New Zealand is currently suspected to be at high levels. In a move to stop this, PHC quota share owners have worked with Licensed Fish Receivers in the Auckland area implemented a horn tagging program for all domestic sales of packhorse rock lobster.