Posted on by Shaun

Protected species bycatch in the wider Hauraki Gulf region 2019-2020

This OIA request for photos of bycatch by observers on commercial fishing boats was sent August 2022 and answered 24 February 2023 due to technical issues.

Please supply the following information under the Official Information Act (OIA):

1. All photos of the two black petrel caught by snapper longline fisheries between 2019-20 in this map. There are no photos of these captures as the birds were released alive. The priority is to release live birds as quickly as is possible and there may not have been time to take photos. This part of your request is therefore declined pursuant to section 18(e) of the OIA.

2. All photos of the seven flesh-footed shearwater caught by snapper longline fisheries between 2019-20 in this map.

There are images of four individual shearwater captures. All photos are labelled with the number 2, and the four individuals are identified through subheadings of 3, 4, 5, and 7 (e.g. 2.Flesh_footed_shearwater_3a)

3. All photos of the flesh-footed shearwater caught by minor bottom longline fisheries between 2019-20 in this map.

Only one individual shearwater was captured and only one photo was taken of the capture.

4. All photos of the white pointer shark caught by snapper longline fisheries between 2019-20 in this map.

The white pointer shark was carefully untangled by the crew and released alive.

5. All photos of the leatherback turtle caught by bigeye longline fisheries between 2019-20 in this map.

The leatherback turtle was released alive

6. All photos of the green turtle caught by southern bluefin longline fisheries between 2019-20 in this map.

It is important to note that the observer identified this turtle as GNT (Green Turtle), which was then uploaded to our website. After the data was uploaded to the website, this capture went through the expert species ID process. It was subsequently found to be an ORT (Olive Ridley Turtle).