The Department of Conservation (DOC), through the Conservation Services Programme (CSP), has a statutory role to monitor and collect data on the interactions between protected species and fisheries. To fulfil this role, government observers are placed on commercial fishing vessels operating in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

This report details protected species captures by fishery, fishing method and area over the 2007/08 observer year in relation to observer effort and commercial fishing effort.

Protected species known to interact with commercial fishing operations include seabirds, marine mammals and marine turtles. Protected corals are also landed in some fisheries. Information on where fishing effort, observer coverage and captures occur is presented at a coarse level, so that potential gaps in monitoring can be identified along with high-risk areas and time periods in various fisheries.

The information collected by observers can be used to identify where the most significant interactions are occurring, and contribute to the development and application of strategies to minimise adverse effects.