Risk Assessment for Marine Mammal Bycatch

Risk and impact assessmentsConservationNatural Resource Use
Written By Hayden Breese
Seal walks on beach with sea in background

Client: Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), New Zealand

New Zealand fur seals, Hector's dolphins, and Māui dolphins face ongoing pressure from commercial fishing bycatch, but knowing how much bycatch is too much is difficult given uncertain population sizes and sparse data.

We assessed the potential population-level effects of fishing bycatch across 54 marine mammal species in New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), comparing two recent time periods of fishing activity.

Outcome: New Zealand fur seals, Māui dolphins, Hector's dolphins, New Zealand sea lions, and melon-headed whales were identified as most at risk, though in all cases predicted bycatch was under 1% of population size. The results helped managers target data collection, prioritise protection, and communicate risk to stakeholders.

Method: Spatially explicit fisheries risk assessment (SEFRA) in a Bayesian framework, applied across 54 species.

Projects
Feral Ungulate Distribution and Disease Risk in New Zealand
Risk and impact assessments, Natural Resource Use
Feral Ungulate Distribution and Disease Risk in New Zealand
Risk and impact assessments, Natural Resource Use
Read more →
Risk and impact assessments, Natural Resource Use
Risk Assessment for Marine Mammal Bycatch
Risk and impact assessments, Conservation, Natural Resource Use
Risk Assessment for Marine Mammal Bycatch
Risk and impact assessments, Conservation, Natural Resource Use
Read more →
Risk and impact assessments, Conservation, Natural Resource Use
Hayden Breese
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