Industry reported non-fish by-catch data collection
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Description of data collection system
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Commercial fishers are required under section 16 of the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978 and section 63B of the Wildlife Act 1953 to report non-fish bycatch (seabirds and marine mammals caught accidentally as part of a fishing operation) to the Ministry of Fisheries. |
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Purpose of data collection |
To monitor mortality of seabirds and marine mammals caught in commercial fishing operations |
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Coverage of data set |
All commercial fishers are required to report accidental catch of non-fish species. However there is likely to be underreporting, since this system is difficult to enforce. |
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Reporting Requirements |
The skipper of the vessel is required to complete the non-fish by-catch form and return it to the Ministry no later than 48 hours after the vessel’s arrival in port. |
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Temporal Resolution |
Time that the mammal or seabird was brought on board |
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Spatial Resolution |
Latitude and longitude of the vessel when the mammal or seabird was brought on board |
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Date of first available historic data |
October 1996 |
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Timeframe for data availability |
Approximately 3 months after the end of a trip |
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Extent of validation/checking |
None |
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Limitations of the dataset |
There is likely to be underreporting and there are likely to be errors on the database due to the lack of validation. |
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Stewardship of the data |
Stewardship rests within the Fisheries Management Group of the Ministry of Fisheries. The dataset is managed within the Ministry of Fisheries. |
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Access to the data |
Contact Bob Johnston in the Fisheries Planning and Co-ordination Section to arrange access. |
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