Snapper count project begins

A research project to establish the population of snapper along the West Coast of the North Island begins today.

The Ministry of Fisheries-commissioned project, using scientists from the National Institute of Atmospheric Research (Niwa), will tag and release 27,000 live snapper until March 6 from areas usually prohibited to commercial fishing.

The research area, with a combined annual commercial and recreational harvest of about 1800 tonnes, is the second largest of the four New Zealand snapper stocks.

The area accounts for about one-third of the country's total snapper catch.

The last time the stocks within the area was estimated was in 1990.

The latest research would determine the effectiveness of rebuilding measures put in place over the past 10 years, Niwa's director of fisheries research, John McKoy, said.

The size of the snapper stock would be estimated from the number of tags recovered from commercial catches between October this year and March next year.

- NZPA

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