Squid in New Zealand

• New Zealand waters support more than 85 species of squid and related groups (cephalopods). Of these, two species of arrow squid are fished commercially, Nototodarus sloanii and Nototodarus gouldi.
• Fishing for gouldi largely takes place in New Zealand's northern waters (down to Cook Strait). Sloanii is fished for predominantly in waters south of the Cook Strait.
• New Zealand's squid fishery is divided up into quota management areas or QMAs. These help Government and scientists understand where fishing is taking place and set rules around what and how much is caught.
• Unlike other fisheries, the QMAs for squid are allocated according to fishing method rather than fishing area.
• SQU1J is one such QMA. It covers most of the waters in New Zealand's exclusive economic zone. Under current regulations, only squid jigging is allowed in SQU1J.
• However, because of changes in the international marketplace since the mid 1990s, squid jigging has become less economically viable in New Zealand waters. This has lead to only a small fraction of the squid available in the SQU1 quota being fished.
• SQU1T covers the same area as SQU1J, but allows commercial fishers to both trawl and jig for squid. The effort for this QMA is concentrated mainly along the south and southeast coasts of the South Islands.
• SQU6T is around the Auckland and Campbell Islands south of the South Island and allows trawl and jig fishing.
• SQU10T is to the north east of the north east of the North Island and allows both trawl and jig fishing. 

The life cycle of squid

• The life cycle of squid make them unique among all commercially fished species in New Zealand waters. Squid are semelparous which means they live, spawn once and die in discreet generations each year.
• Squid grow incredibly quickly. What is the size of your finger in November will be two kilograms by April.
• There is a natural variation in squid abundance each year. This variation is not well understood, but it is thought to be due changing oceanographic conditions such as water temperature which has an effect on squid eggs.
• Changes within the complex food web which squid are a part of also have an effect on squid numbers, as does commercial fishing and animals that eat squid such as whales, seabirds, other squid and fish.
• Despite these changes, squid catch rates (the number of squid caught as a proportion of effort) remain steady and high.

Squid management

• There is no culmination of squid between generations, so in order for squid to remain abundant, a portion of them need to survive to spawn for the next year.
• Fisheries managers take this, and a range of scientific information, into account when setting squid catch limits.
• For decades commercial fishers have consistently caught significantly less than these limits. The table below shows the proportion of the total allowable commercial catch which has actually been landed.

Squid season	Percentage of squid TACC that has been landed
2008/09	36%
2007/08	44%
2006/05	55%
2005/04	57%
2004/05	68%
2003/04	67%
2002/03	34%
2001/02	38%
2000/01	28%

Q&A

Do commercial fishers affect the number of squid caught between years by catching squid eggs in their trawls?

There is no evidence of this. There have been no reports from commercial fishers or Ministry of Fisheries observers of eggs being found in fishing trawls. Besides, there has been no long term decline in the squid catch rate, which you would expect if large numbers of squid eggs were being caught.

Are commercial fishers to blame for whales not having enough squid to eat?

No. It is simplistic to suggest that commercial fishing is responsible for the marine mammals not getting enough squid since squid exist in a complex ecosystem. There is a natural variation in the numbers of squid which is not well understood but thought to be because of changing oceanographic conditions such as water temperature.

There has been no long term decline in squid catch rates, which would be expected if there was strong competition for the resource. Part of the behaviour of marine mammals in New Zealand is that they forage for food. When there is no squid available they will look for other sources of food.

You can find more about whale strandings in New Zealand, and the question of their diet on the Ministry of Fisheries website »