Have your say on tarakihi

Photo credit NZ Fishing News

Fisheries New Zealand is consulting on new management measures for tarakihi, and now is your chance to have your voice heard. 

Both the east and west coast stocks are in serious trouble. The May 2026 assessment estimated around 92% of the adult population has been stripped from the east coast, leaving the fishery collapsed. The west coast isn't far behind, with roughly 71% gone and declining rapidly.

LegaSea and the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council are still finalising our position, but one thing is clear: the status quo has failed tarakihi. 

Submissions close 24 July 2026. We know the public voice works, sustained pressure from the public has shifted decisions in the past, and it can again. 

We know these processes aren't straightforward so we have created an easy online submission form.

Have your say here!

Quick Facts about tarakihi

🐟 Why is tarakihi split into an "east coast" and "west coast" stock?

Fisheries New Zealand now assesses and manages tarakihi as two stocks, eastern and western. The science has indicated the two coasts have different nursery grounds, spawning areas, age patterns, and catch trends, and both age-composition and genetic studies point to fish being largely distinct. On the east coast, juvenile fish grow up mainly around Canterbury Bight and Pegasus Bay before moving north into deeper water; on the west coast the main nurseries are Tasman and Golden Bays, with less large-scale movement.

🐟 How much tarakihi is exported?

Very little. Tarakihi is one of New Zealand's staple table fish. Around 95% of tarakihi caught is sold and eaten right here in Aotearoa, not shipped overseas. That's why the state of the stock matters so much to ordinary Kiwis, this isn't a distant export commodity, it's a fish New Zealanders catch or buy to put on the dinner table. And the East Coast stock has already collapsed below the point at which a fishery should be considered for closure, while the West Coast is heading the same way if nothing changes. It's New Zealanders who are losing out, with another fish gone from local stores, higher prices, and a much-loved fishery run into the ground. Rebuilding these stocks properly now is how we make sure Kiwis don't keep missing out.

🐟 What needs to change for tarakihi?

The environment must come first. Under the Fisheries Act 1996, the Minister must first ensure the stock and the wider marine environment are sustained, before deciding how much can be caught - and where a fishery has fallen too low, the law requires a genuine plan to rebuild it. On that basis, there needs to be drastic cuts to fishing pressure, a shift away from bulk harvest fishing methods such as bottom trawling, and protection of nursery and juvenile aggregation areas.

🐟 Is tarakihi mostly targeted, or caught as bycatch?

Tarakihi is mostly targeted by bottom trawling. Around two-thirds of commercially caught tarakihi is taken on fishing trips where tarakihi is the target species, with the rest coming up alongside other species in mixed trawl fisheries. Most of the catch is a choice about where and how to fish, not something unavoidable which means catch of tarakihi can be reduced by changing fisher behaviour rather than being written off as unavoidable bycatch.

Click here for more FAQs.

How to Help

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World-leading Quota Management System

We hear the Quota Management System (QMS) described as "world-leading" whenever fisheries management comes under scrutiny. But if that's true, why are communities around New Zealand calling for more fishing closures to protect depleted local fish populations?

Nearly 40 years after the QMS was introduced, many fish stocks remain under pressure, bottom trawling and dredging continue to damage important habitats, bycatch remains a problem, and quota ownership has become concentrated in fewer hands.

The system still manages fisheries largely one species at a time, despite the ocean functioning as a connected ecosystem. Catch limits are often set with incomplete data, while onboard cameras have exposed gaps between what's reported and what's happening at sea.

If "world-leading" means creating a rent-seeking quota market, perhaps the label fits. 

A genuine world-leading fisheries system that meets the needs of all New Zealanders would deliver abundant fish populations, healthy ecosystems and greater transparency in decision making.

World-leading QMS? Not any more.

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