Stocks of fish and chip favourite tarakihi plunge to historic lows
Thursday, 2 July 2026
Tarakihi is one of the country’s favourite fish and a staple of fish and chip dinners. But the fishery is under severe pressure, prompting warnings the species is on the verge of extinction.
Stocks of tarakihi off the east coast are estimated to have fallen to just 7.7% of the original biomass and the western stock is also in decline, new figures revealed on Thursday. A biomass level below 20% represents an overfished stock, and one below 10% is deemed to be collapsed and at risk of not recovering.
Fisheries New Zealand is now consulting on new sustainability measures, after updated assessments showed both stocks are being overfished and too few young fish are surviving to replenish those being caught.
The concerns are not new. A previous stock dip on the east coast in 2019 led some consumers to start boycotting the delicacy, with one Christchurch takeaway shop taking the fish off the menu.
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Environmental Defence Society (EDS) policy director Raewyn Peart said the state of the fishery was “shocking”, and says that exposes structural problems in the quota management system.
“After 40 years of what we’ve repeatedly been told is a world-class fisheries management system, New Zealand’s third most valuable inshore finfish fishery is on the brink,” she said.
Tarakihi is widely consumed in New Zealand and is a staple species for restaurants, supermarkets, and fish and chip shops.
But new modelling shows the eastern stock has been in long-term decline since at least the 1940s, and has been overfished for around six decades.
While the western stock is in better shape at an estimated 29% of its original pre-fishing population size (called virgin biomass), scientists say its trajectory has worsened sharply since around 2017.
Peart said earlier stock assessments had overestimated abundance, in part due to limited data and modelling assumptions that did not reflect real-world conditions.
She also pointed to a lack of investment in fisheries science, saying the western stock only received its first full assessment this year despite decades under the quota management system.
There are also concerns about how environmental factors are incorporated into stock modelling. Ocean advocates claim climate change and warming seas, including an increase in marine heatwaves since 2012, may have reduced tarakihi recruitment ‒ the number which survive to a fishable stage ‒ but were not adequately accounted for in past assessments.
The scientific review process has also come under scrutiny, with critics arguing that errors in a 2022 eastern stock model were not identified and that the peer review system lacks sufficient independence.
There is also concern current management areas do not reflect real-life boundaries and span both stocks. FNZ is consulting on whether to subdivide these areas.
Size limits have also been questioned. Tarakihi are legally able to be harvested from 25 centimetres, but do not typically reach sexual maturity until between 33 and 37 centimetres, meaning many fish are caught before they can reproduce, EDS said.
Bottom trawling, the main harvesting method, has also come under fire with critics arguing its impacts on juvenile habitat are underestimated.
EDS wants a closure of the fishery.
“Tarakihi is a taonga species,” Peart said. “But given the severe depletion of the stock, the loss of juvenile habitat and the growing impacts of climate change, there are real uncertainties as to whether it can rebuild.”
She also said broader reform of the quota management system was now urgently needed to prevent similar collapses in other fisheries.
Submissions on FNZ’s proposed changes close on July 24.
Emma Taylor, FNZ’s director of fisheries management, confirmed the agency was consulting “on significant reductions to tarakihi catch limits and potential restrictions on fishing to protect juvenile populations”.
She said: “As always, when we get new information we act on it in the interests of sustainability … The latest information shows fewer young tarakihi fish are entering the populations.
“This low recruitment has coincided with warmer sea temperatures and scientists are unsure whether this is a short-term issue that may improve as fishing pressure is reduced or part of a long-term decline linked to a changing environment.”
FNZ wants public feedback on proposed changes, including fishing restrictions in tarakihi nursery and juvenile areas, she said.
The agency makes “a significant annual investment in fisheries science”.
“Fisheries science is complex and constantly evolving, reflecting new developments and data collected from fisheries,” Taylor said. “To manage this, our fisheries science process incorporates several levels of assurance, including internal review, science working groups, independent review, and international audits.”
FNZ takes in evidence from a range of sources through science working groups,“ she said. ”A wide range of participants are invited to take part in these working groups, including environmental NGOs, external research providers, recreational fishing organisations, and the fishing industry.“
Evidence reviewed by working groups is subjected to another layer of review.
“Our management proposals for tarakihi are supported by the latest evidence, noting there is significant complexity in the management of these stocks.”