She'll measure the catch, record the data and also ask what they threw back.
"That's the really interesting one — it's when the shark stories come out and the tales about the ones that got away."
The job, she says, is surprisingly social.
"Lots of people love to chat, they love to show you their catch and sometimes you see some amazing fish and other things they have fished out of the sea. Sometimes they question why you weren't there last time and proceed to tell you about the monster fishes that I didn't get to measure."
Kim's work as a boat ramp surveyor is a vital part of NIWA's research on recreational fisheries that is funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries.
Fisheries scientist Bruce Hartill says there is a growing need to monitor the catch of recreational, customary and commercial fishers if we want plenty of fish to catch in the future.
"Interviews with recreational fishers also give us unique insights into how healthy inshore fish populations are. They help us determine whether catch rates are increasing or decreasing over time, and whether fish are living long enough to spawn in sufficient numbers."
Managing coastal fisheries is challenging and surveys are needed to give a representative snapshot of a fishery. Commercial fishing companies are required to report the weight of their landed catch but the same doesn't apply to the recreational sector. On the west coast where Kim is based, the boat ramp surveys are used along with cameras counting boats returning after a day's fishing.
But on the east coast even more counting goes on. Here, there are also aerial surveys taking place where boats are also counted from the air on 47 days up until the end of September next year.
The National Research Bureau is also conducting a nationwide household survey of fishers alongside NIWA's survey, which is based on 2013 Census information to guide the selection of a representative sample of reporting fishers.
Results from all this counting are then compared for accuracy.
"We have done this since 2011, and have been surprised by how much the catch landed at surveyed ramps has changed over time. Most of this is due to changes in catch rates, rather than changes in the number of boats that go fishing which shows the information provided during boat ramp interviews is crucial to the monitoring programme," Mr Hartill says.
NIWA boat ramp interview days are spread throughout the year, on weekends and midweek days to get a representative coverage. On those days interviewers like Kim will be at 20 of the busiest boat ramps along the northeast coast of the North Island between 8am and dusk focusing on snapper, kahawai, trevally, red gurnard and tarakihi.
Fishers on the northeast coast of the North Island will also be asked if NIWA can cut the heads off any kahawai they've landed. This is so the ear bones, or otoliths, can be removed which, when examined reveal growth rings similar to tree rings. "We use these to monitor changes in the age composition of kahawai stock. For example, if we see strong pulses of young fish entering a population, that tells us there has been good recruitment and the fishery will benefit in the future.
"But if we see older fish disappearing faster than the rate of younger fish coming in, that suggests fishing pressure may be too high."
