The New Zealand Best Fish Guide - SEAFOOD Ecolabelling: Principles and Practice - page 374

Table 18.2 Score for fish stock status and sustainable yield.

Score Status Stock status

A Catches well below

MSY and stock well
above B MSY

A fish stock has potential in the short term to sustain
catches higher than those currently taken and there is
an agreed pathway to reduced catches to the MSY, CAY
and MCY level

B Catch limit < MCY Catches or catch limit less than the estimated MCY

based on average catches over a set period (cYav).

B Catches at or below

MSY and stock
above B MSY

A fish stock is above B MSY but catches are up to the
MSY level based on the official stock assessment
estimate of CAY or MCY

C Catch limit or

catches > MCY but
< 2

Catches or catch limit exceeds the estimated MCY
based on average catches over a set period (cYav) but
are less than twice the estimated MCY × MCY

C Catch exceeds MSY,

CAY or MCY but
stock is above B MSY

Catch limit or catches exceed MSY but the stock is still
above the B MSY level, for example, above B MAY or B MCY ,
whichever is higher

D Catch limit or

catches greater than
twice MCY

Catches or catch limit exceeds twice the estimated MCY
based on average catches over a set period (cYav)

D Stock below B MSY

but above 20% Bo

The stock has been overfished and reduced below the
size that would support the MSY based on B MAY or B MCY

D Uncertain/unknown

yield or stock size

Status and sustainability are unknown due to a lack of
adequate monitoring data or research. There are no
estimates of yield, i.e. MCY, CAY or risk-based yields or
forward projections. Fisheries operating under such
uncertainty are not adopting a precautionary approach
and cannot be shown to be sustainable

E Stock below 20% Bo Fishery is overfished and catches need to be

substantially reduced to allow the stock to recover

E Stock below B MSY

and subject to other
factors

Fishery is overfished and likely below the size that would
support the MSY and is subject to either recent low
recruitment which would prevent recovery to B MSY within
10 years, serial depletion or recent serious disease
events, e.g. dredge oysters

Note: MSY in this context includes MCY or CAY.

Bird also looked at additional methods that were not assessed in the US study, such as
collecting and diving, jigging, trolling, hook and line, fyke nets, and beach seining.
On review, an additional criterion to that applied by Morgan and Chuenpagdee
(2003) was added, based on the bycatch of sponges, coral, bryozoans and other
invertebrates to better reflect the full range of species caught as bycatch.
In most cases the rankings were similar to those in the US study. A noticeable
change was the ranking for mid-water trawls which was revised to reflect the impact
on globally threatened NZ sea lions, seals and dolphins, and that a proportion of
mid-water trawls scrape the bottom (about 50% in the hoki fishery). Purse seining