Scientific name: |
Seriolella brama |
Other names: |
common warehou, warehou, o kihirasu, media (Japan) |
Blue warehou is a worst choice seafood. A better alternative is trevally or blue cod.
Blue warehou is a coastal species. Unlike other warehou (silver and white warehou) it is found in depths of 20 to 200m in cooler southern waters south of Cook Strait. The main fishing grounds are Cook Strait and the West Coast of the South Island.
Blue warehou is caught mainly by bottom trawling. Of concern are the impacts of bottom trawling on benthic communities and the bycatch of sharks and other species. Additional concerns include limited research, the unknown size of fish stocks and the lack of a management plan.
Not certified under any scheme.
New Zealand market, plus exports of $1.3 million in 2015, half to Iran. Other major markets in China, Spain and Fiji.
Asssessment output
No regional or fishing method difference.
| Score: | D |
| Population size: | Unknown in all areas. |
| Annual catch limit: | Limit set at 4,512 tonnes since 2001-02. |
| Recorded catch: | Reported landings of 3713 tonnes in 2014-15. |
| Stock trends: | Unknown |
| MSY Status: | Unknown |
| The Ministry of Primary Industries assessment plenary report includes: | “Estimates of reference and current biomass are not available. For all Fishstocks, it is not known if recent landings or TACC’s are at levels which will allow the stocks to move towards a size that will support the maximum sustainable yield.” (MPI 2015, p 193). |
| Score: | C |
| Distribution: | Mainly found in coastal waters around the South Island at depths of 20-200m. |
| Maximum age (years): | 22 |
| Age at sexual maturity: | 4-5 |
| Growth rate: | Moderate |
| Reproductive output: | Medium to high |
| Age exploited: | 4 |
| Ability to recover: | Moderate |
| Score: | E |
| Fishing method(s): | Mainly caught as bycatch in trawl fisheries (e.g. squid), including bottom trawling for hoki. A small number are caught in coastal set nets. |
| Habitat damage: | Damage to seafloor communities when caught by bottom trawl. Impacts include loss of biodiversity, loss of benthic productivity and modification of important habitat like breeding or juvenile areas (see hoki for more information). |
| Habitat of particular significance: | hasn’t been defined in New Zealand. |
| Bycatch: | A range of non-target fish species are caught as bycatch (see hoki for more information). |
| Ecological effects: | The combined effects of seafloor damage and alteration, non-target fish bycatch, and protected and threatened species bycatch can have considerable ecological implications. |
| Score: | D |
| Bycatch: | The inshore trawl fishery, squid and hoki fishery includes a range of protected species bycatch including seabirds, fur seals, sharks and coral species. Inshore trawl fisheries have an estimated seabird bycatch of 4370 seabirds (including cryptic mortality of birds that strike the trawl warps and are not recovered in the nets). Species reported include white-capped albatross, Salvin’s albatross and white-chinned petrels. Fur seal captures have also been estimated in the inshore trawl fisheries at about 20 per year (see hoki for more information). |
| Score: | C |
| Management component: | Single species. No definite stock boundaries are known – WAR 3 may consist of more than one stock. |
| Score: | D |
| Quota Management Species: | Yes, since 1986. |
| Catch limits: | Yes |
| Management plan: | There is no approved inshore plan. |
| Stock assessment: | No quantitative stock assessment. An uncertain assessment was carried out in WAR 3 in 1997. |
| Research: | There is no directed research on blue warehou. |
| Observer coverage: | Unobserved in the target fishery. Observer coverage in the hoki target fishery is 27.3%. |
Fisheries map
Taken from the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Plenary report for fisheries management.
References
Report from the Fishery Assessment Plenary, May 2016: stock assessments and yield estimates. Part 1: Introductory Section to Hoki, Science Group, Ministry for Primary Industries; Ministry for Primary Industries (2016) Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Annual Review 2015. Compiled by the Fisheries Management Science Team, Ministry for Primary Industries. 682p. The Guidebook to New Zealand Commercial Fish Species, 2007 Revised Edition, The New Zealand Seafood Industry Council Ltd. Seafood New Zealand, 2016. New Zealand Seafood Exports to December 2015. 133p. Annual Review Report for Deepwater Fisheries for 2014/15. MPI Technical Paper No: 2016/09. Prepared by the Ministry for Primary Industries. March 2016. 103p. S.J. Baird, D. Tracey, S. Mormede, M. Clark (2013) The distribution of protected corals in New Zealand waters. Prepared for DOC, February 2013. 96p. MFish (2010) National Fisheries Plan for Deep-Water and Middle-Depth Fisheries, 2010. 51p.