Export case study: hoki
Preview
Once regarded as an inferior fish with poor keeping qualities,
hoki is now an internationally-accepted prime white fish and
in 1998 was New Zealand's biggest single fish export.
Hoki
vital statistics
Hoki is
an offshore midwater fish, found at depths of 200-800 metres
throughout New Zealand waters. It's also known as whiptail,
blue hake or blue grenadier.
Growth
Hoki grow quite fast. Juveniles reach up to 27 cm within
one year. Males may grow up to about 112 cm long, and females
up to 130 cm long and 7 kg in weight. Hoki live naturally
to about 20-25 years but because of heavy fishing, few survive
past the age of 15. The annual rate of natural mortality in
adults is around 20 - 25 percent for both females and males.
Food
Hoki feed in mid-water on crustaceans, such as shrimps,
small fish and squid. Hoki are eaten by many other deepwater
species, particularly when they are young.
Spawning
Hoki spawn in winter, each fish undergoing several spawning
cycles before it is fully spent. A female 90 cm long spawns
over one million eggs in a season. However, not all fish spawn
every year. The eggs and larvae are dispersed by currents and
the juvenile fish are widespread. Spawning fish often fall prey
to seals, while their eggs are eaten by other mid-water fish,
such as dogfish.
The
hoki fishery
Hoki is
New Zealand's most abundant commercial fish species, and is
a major offshore trawl fishery. Annual catches between 1990
and 1995 averaged 200,000 - 240,000 tonnes. Hoki has been New
Zealand's biggest single fish export for a number of years earning
$311 million in 2000. The last three years have seen a significant
increase in earnings (only $193 million in 1997) as the hoki
industry has improved its processing methods and produced higher
valued products. The United States is our main market for hoki
exports followed by Japan.
Hoki
is fished all year round. The main fishing season runs for
around 10 weeks between June and September during spawning.
This is the only time hoki aggregate (come together) and so
are easier to catch.
Because
hoki produce so many eggs, targeting spawning fish may not
be too harmful to the future of the fishery. The hoki spawning
grounds are mostly inside a limited fishing zone that excludes
larger vessels and offers some protection to spawning fish.
Click to see a map of the hoki fishery
History
of the hoki fishery
The hoki fishery was developed largely by foreign vessels
in the 1970s. Coastal trawlers caught hoki in the late 1940s,
but it was then regarded as an inferior fish with poor keeping
qualities. After New Zealand declared our Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) in 1978, New Zealand companies chartered large,
overseas-owned trawlers to work the hoki fishery. More recently
New Zealand-owned vessels have been operating in the fishery.
Up until
1985 hoki quotas were set at 60,000 tonnes or less. The fishery
expanded substantially during 1985 and 1986 when quotas increased
to 250,000 tonnes. When the quotas first increased, about
60 percent of the catch was processed into surimi - a fish
product used in many foods, such as crab sticks. In the mid
1990s the quotas were reduced to around 200,000 tonnes before
moving back up to 250,000 tonnes in late 1996. In October
2001 this was again reduced to 200,000 tonnes.
The pattern
of fishing has also changed over the last 10 years. Initially
fishing was mostly on the West Coast of the South Island.
Fishing is now more widespread with vessels also catching
hoki in Cook Strait, around the Chatham Rise and in Sub-Antarctic
waters.
Hoki is
now an internationally accepted white fish and less than 10
percent is processed into surimi. The majority is now used for
prime white fish portions and ready-to-cook battered and breaded
fish meals.
Management
issues
Since the
hoki fishery expanded from 1985 - 86, the principal management
issues that have arisen are:
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Sustainability
of catch levels |
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Dumping
and waste |
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By-catch. |
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Sustainability
of catch levels
 Following
more accurate stock assessments based on acoustic surveys
of spawning concentrations, the Total Allowable Catch (TAC)
was increased to 250,000 tonnes in 1987. Industry and government
groups both felt some unease about whether this level of catch
would be sustainable. In the 1989 season there were several
indications of stress in the fishery with reduced catch and
catch rates.
The concerns
that the long-term sustainable yield may be lower than the
then-current catch levels continued into the early 1990s and
the quota was reduced to 200,000 tonnes in 1990-1991.
Since
then, research information has indicated very successful breeding
years in 1987 and 1988, which have boosted the stock, and
high breeding success was predicted to continue from 1991-1994.
Accordingly, the TAC was increased back up to 240,000 tonnes
for the 1995-96 season and back up to 250,000 tonnes since
the 1996-97 season. More recent information indicates another
change in the stock which requires a reduction in the catch
limit down to 200,000 for 2001 and 2002.
Dumping
and Waste
 Once
on deck, hoki has to be iced within six hours or it goes off.
Catches of hoki were sometimes pulled up faster than they
were processed, and so excess fish were thrown back. Some
fish have also been lost through burst nets. Dumping fish
at sea is now illegal except in very specific circumstances.
As catches
have increased, so has concern about the impact of vessels
dumping offal and other fish waste during processing at sea.
One concern is that offal may cause low oxygen levels on the
sea bed, disrupting the ecology of the animals living there.
By-catch
Fishers trawling for hoki may catch other fish as by-catch,
especially hake, ling and silver warehou in the West Coast
hoki fisheries. Controlling the level of by-catch
is extremely difficult, and hake and ling catches have often
exceeded quota limits.
Another
by-catch problem is caused by fur seals looking for an easy
meal of hoki. The seals are attracted to the fishing vessels,
and can get tangled in the nets and drowned or hauled up on
deck with the catch. The scale of the fur seal by-catch problem
was recognised in 1989, when it was estimated that 800 fur
seals were killed during the season.
A code
of practice for fishers to
help minimise seal deaths was published in 1991. This
followed work by the then Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
(MAF) and the Fishing Industry Association. In that year,
the number of seals caught declined to 202. The Code is updated
each year.
For more
information click on any link below.
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