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Summary
A qualitative (Level 1) risk assessment was conducted to examine the likelihood of fisheries effects on populations of New Zealand seabirds in New Zealand fisheries waters. The method involved assigning levels of exposure and consequence at a workshop of scientific and technical experts. Uncertainty around the assessment was explicitly stated.
Risk scores are presented for 101 seabird taxa and 26 fishing methods. Thalassarche albatrosses, or mollymawks, Procellaria petrels and large shearwaters were found to be at greatest national risk from fishing. Other species at risk from one or just a few fisheries included yellow-eyed penguins, shag species, little blue penguins and Hutton’s and fluttering shearwaters. The fishery found to be posing the greatest risk to seabirds was the setnet fishery followed by all longline fisheries, although the risk from longline fisheries was lower when current mitigation measures are used correctly.
The results of this assessment can be used to identify additional information requirements for more robust assessments of fishing risks to seabirds with reduced uncertainty. Such assessments form an important basis for managing fishing impacts on seabirds.