Estimates of current and reference absolute biomass are not available for any gurnard stock. .

Estimates of current and reference biomass were available for GUR 1W and GUR 1E after the 1997–

98 stock assessment, but can no longer be considered current and in 2008 the Northern Inshore

Finfish Working Group (NINSWG) recommended that this assessment be revisited.

Red gurnard is a major bycatch species subject to wide variations in recorded catch. This is partly

due to changes in target fisheries and stocks, and to natural variations in the red gurnard stocks. The

MCY estimates derived from catch statistics are subject to a great deal of uncertainty and are

probably conservative.

The current TACCs were based on a period of highest ever catches, and these levels have not been

reached in recent years. In GUR 1, current catch levels are probably constrained by changes in the

target fisheries.

GUR 1W

The available stock assessment was based on data up to the end of the 1997–98 fishing year. The

model indicated that B

MID99 was about 80% of B0 (range 40–147%, performance index 3%),MSY. Catch levels at that time appeared to be sustainable, and continued catches at thatMSY.

GUR 1E

The available stock assessment was based on data up to the end of the 1997–98 fishing year. The

abundance indices all suggest that the biomass in GUR 1E declined in the early 1980s, but recovered

slightly during the 1990s. The model indicated that biomass at the time of the assessment appeared to

be above B

levels at that time were probably sustainable. It was predicted that continued catches at those levels

would allow the stock to remain above B

Recent CPUE analyses (up to 2004–05) indicate that abundance has either been stable or likely

increased since the 1998–99 stock assessment.

GUR 2

A stock assessment was attempted in 1997–98, but rejected by the Inshore Working Group. Recent

CPUE analyses (up to 2004–05) indicate that there have been no drastic changes in CPUE with

current levels similar to that from the early 1990s. Recent catches and the TACC are probably

sustainable, at least in the short-term. It is not known if recent catches or the current TACC will allow

the stock to move towards a size that will support the maximum sustainable yield.

GUR 3

GUR 3 is being managed within an AMP. The TACC for GUR 3 was decreased to 800 t for the

2002–03 fishing year, where it has remained since. CPUE has been increasing steadily since the

lowest point in 1997–98 and reached the highest level at the end of the series in 2005/06. This

observation is corroborated by the 2007 ECSI trawl survey result for GUR 3 which was also the

highest on record (more than double the previous high), although the survey CV’s are relatively high

(range 27–40%). This indicates that the abundance of GUR 3 is probably at its highest level in 20

years. However, without a formal stock assessment it is not possible to determine the status of GUR 3

in relation to B

sustainable in the short to medium-term.

GUR 7

The TACC for GUR 7 was increased from 678 t to 815 t in the 1991–92 fishing year under the AMP

then reduced to 678 t in 1997–98 when the AMP finished and increased again to 681 t in 2001–02.

Since 2001–02, landings have fluctuated around the 681 t TACC. Un-standardised commercial-trawl

CPUE for GUR 7 declined from 1992–93 to 1996–97 and then increased from 1998–01 to 2002–03.

Trawl surveys, on the other hand, indicate that the relative biomass of red gurnard declined gradually

from 1992 to 2003 on the west coast of the South Island, and, the relative biomass index dropped

sharply in 2003 but has since returned to historical levels.

Recent catches and the TACC are probably sustainable, at least in the short-term. It is not known if

recent catches or the current TACC will allow the stock to move towards a size that will support the

maximum sustainable yield.

GUR 8

It is not known if recent catch levels or the current TACC are sustainable or if they are at levels that

will allow the stock to move towards a size that will support the maximum sustainable yield.

suggesting that the stock has been only lightly exploited and is also benefiting from several recent

years of strong recruitment. Recent CPUE analyses indicate that the stock status has not declined

since the 1998–99 stock assessment,.

Current biomass at the time of the last assessment appeared to be greater than stock size that would

support the B

level were predicted to allow the stock to remain above B