Project commenced:
The commercial fishing industry is a complex system, and one issue that can hamper the success of fishing companies is the inadvertent capture of fish that are not target species. Under the Quota Management System, if a company has limited quota for a non-target species then fishing for target species has to stop once the limited quota of non-target species has been met. In a lead-up research project the researchers showed that fish traps, based in mātauranga Maori, have potential to reduce bycatch. In this second phase, the researchers looked at the design of these fish traps and tested new designs to determine commercial viability.
To watch a video about this research, click here