Fishing in New Zealand: A Sustainability Story
Salmon spawn in New Zealand, but only because European settlers have spent more than a century introducing and re-introducing foreign fish species to the island nation.
If you see fish on a menu in New Zealand, chances are it’s salmon—which seems odd since all salmon are native to the northern hemisphere. If you see fish in a river in New Zealand, small ones might be whitebait while bigger and really long and skinny ones might be a tuna—but not the kind of tuna you’ll find anywhere else in the world. The fishing industries in New Zealand, both recreational and commercial, are a fascinating sustainability story offering a glimpse into the history of human colonization and a peek into the future of global aquaculture.
It’s no surprise that fish are a large part of the culture and diet of an island country like New Zealand. But how sustainable is this practice? People who eat animal-based protein can get it from livestock, wild game, dairy, eggs, “aquaculture” (i.e., fish farms), or “capture fisheries” (i.e., fish in the wild). For those not willing to go completely vegan, is eating fish any better for the planet than eating other kinds of animals or animal products? According to many studies, the answer is yes: eating fish could be the most environmentally sustainable way to include animal protein in your diet—but whether it is better depends on the fish farm or fishery.
New Zealand Salmon
Starting in 1846, European settlers unsuccessfully attempted to establish large populations of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in New Zealand’s rivers. These fish decided that swimming way out to the ocean and back was too much bother, choosing instead to spend their whole lives in freshwater lakes. After the turn of the century, in 1901, people tried a different species: Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) from California. These “King” (also called “Quinnat”) salmon thrived, swam out to sea where they packed on the pounds, and returned to their natal rivers to spawn.
Wild Quinnat salmon runs still occur on the east coast of the South Island today. Twenty years ago, Fish and Game New Zealand reported that “salmon fishing is by far the most popular form of angling in the South Island.” But by 2023, the wild-run salmon fishery had declined so much that Fish and Game set a “two-fish whole-season bag limit, the goal of which is to ensure the very survival of Quinnat salmon in New Zealand’s South Island.” Salmon populations returning from the sea naturally ebb and flow, but spawning-ground habitat loss due to hydropower dams and lower ocean food-web productivity due to climate change are likely factors in the collapse of wild populations of this introduced species in New Zealand waters.
If wild populations are barely hanging on, why is salmon so prevalent on menus across New Zealand? The answer is salmon farming, which New Zealand is showing can be done sustainably. Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch says, “Buy Chinook salmon farmed in New Zealand — this is your Best Choice farmed option.” If you’re in the right neighborhood, you can even combine the experience of recreational fishing with visiting a salmon farm in a “catch-your-own” pond-to-table café.
New Zealand Whitebait
Whitebait specials are another menu item you’re likely to see in New Zealand—especially on the west and east coasts of the South Island. (In case you’re curious, a typical “whitebait special” is an omelet of eggs mixed with what appears to be many tiny fish bones—which, upon closer inspection, are whole tiny fish.) In many ways, whitebait are the yin to the salmon yang. While salmon are introduced fish prized for the large size they can attain and the thrill they provide on the end of a rod, whitebait are small juveniles of six fish species native to New Zealand that have been scooped out of rivers ever since the first Maori people arrived.
Although opposites in many ways, whitebait share a common environment with salmon and, like them, have seen their numbers collapse. The culprits in this population squeeze include hydropower dams and climate change, but the most dramatic environmental change is other introduced fish species.
[A] substantial body of research has demonstrated that the introduction of brown trout has resulted in the rapid and widespread decline of New Zealand's predominantly endemic native fish fauna, especially within the family Galaxiidae. The principal causes of this decline have been predation and competition from brown trout, both for food resources and habitat.
—The Introduction of Brown Trout to New Zealand and their Impact on Native Fish Communities
For decades in the 1800s, while they were unsuccessfully attempting to create large populations of Atlantic salmon throughout New Zealand, people from Europe and Asia were also bringing over and releasing many other fish species, including carp, guppy, perch, catfish, and—most successfully—trout. The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research reports that “brown trout are now the most widespread and common introduced fish in New Zealand waters.”
New Zealand Tuna
One fish you’re more likely to see in the water than on a menu in New Zealand is tuna—the Maori name for freshwater eel. Like whitebait, these eels were an important part of the diet of the first people to colonize Aotearoa, providing a dependable source of fat and oil in a place with no native land mammals. In common with salmon and whitebait, New Zealand tuna spend part of their lives at sea and part in freshwater. Unlike their salmon friends, which spawn in rivers, tuna return to sea to spawn.
Three species of freshwater eel can be found in New Zealand; only the longfin eel (Anguilla dieffenbachii) is endemic (found nowhere else). If you’re lucky enough to spot an eel in the wild, it’s likely a shortfin (Anguilla australis), which can tolerate warmer temperatures and lower-quality water. Their hardiness, longevity (they can live for as long as 60 years), unique shape, and large size (they can grow more than six feet long) make pet shortfin eels in tanks a popular tourist attraction.
Dispatches from New Zealand
Every other week, we share a dispatch from New Zealand showcasing interesting sustainable practices that differ from those in North America. In the alternate week, we continue to publish our series of practical action guides.
Last year, we explored the pathway to sustainable movement, energy, and goods. For the next few weeks, we’re exploring the pathway to sustainable food. From the standard American diet to a healthier plant-centered diet and from industrial farming to regenerative agriculture, stay with us on the journey to sustainability.
References and Further Reading
The environmental cost of animal source foods, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
Atlantic salmon, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)
Chinook salmon, NIWA
Salmon: The Miracle Fish, New Zealand Geographic
Salmon Season 2022-2023 Canterbury Salmon Fishing Report, fishingmag.co.nz
Sustainable salmon guide, Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch
Whitebait - migratory galaxiids, New Zealand Department of Conservation (NZ DOC)
The Introduction of Brown Trout to New Zealand and their Impact on Native Fish Communities, Chapter 21 of Brown Trout: Biology, Ecology and Management published by Wiley
Freshwater eels in New Zealand, NZ DOC