Tuatua. Stock Assessment Report 2008. 

Ministry of Fisheries 

2008 

Ministry of Fisheries 

 

Report 

Tuatua (Paphies subtriangulata) were introduced into the QMS on 1 October 2005. The fishing year runs from 1 October to 30 September, and commercial catches are measured in greenweight. QMA boundaries for tuatua were set the same as those established for FMAs, except for FMA 1 (the area between North Cape and Cape Runaway), which was divided into two QMAs, TUA 1A and TUA 1B, on either side of Te Arai Point (Pakiri Beach). The formerly specified historic commercial areas within TUA 1B (Papamoa domain to Maketu Beach, Bay of Plenty) and TUA 9 (i.e., Ninety Mile Beach, Hokianga Harbour to Maunganui Bluff, and specific areas between Maunganui Bluff to the North Head of the Kaipara Harbour) were revoked, and regulations were amended to remove the commercial daily catch limits for tuatua, which were no longer applicable. Commercial fishing was allowed to continue only in TUA 9 in the specified commercial area of the Kaipara Harbour entrance. A TACC of 43 t, which reflected the average of the reported landings taken from the Kaipara fishery between 1990–91 and 2003–04, was allocated to the TUA 9 stock in recognition that commercial tuatua fishing was constrained to the Kaipara Harbour entrance. There is no minimum legal size (MLS) for tuatua, although fishers probably favour large individuals. Tuatua are available for harvest year-round, so there is no apparent seasonality in the fishery. Significant landings since 1989–90 have been reported from TUA 1 and TUA 9 only (Table 1), and there have been no reported landings from TUA 5, TUA 6, and TUA 8. Between 1989–90 and 1993–94, landings from TUA 1 averaged 85 t, but subsequently decreased substantially, and no further landings were reported from 2000–01. Landings from TUA 9 reached a peak of 192 t in 1997–98, and subsequently decreased, ranging from 4 to 76 t (average 32 t) between 1998–99 and 2003–04. This decline in commercial catches from the Kaipara bed is probably related to historic participants retiring from the fishery. The commercial effort had greatly reduced by 1992, post moratorium implementation, and catches have been influenced by the fact that commercial fishing is intermittent with only one or two fishers involved. No landings were reported from TUA 9 for 2004–05 to 2007–08. 

Fisheries 

Tuatua, Paphies subtriangulata, quota management area, fishing mortality, non-fishing mortality, fisheries, Kaipara Harbour, New Zealand, stock assessment, biomass, fish biology, ecosystem health 

MFish2008_Tuatua_TUA.pdf