In our latest The Update, Seafood New Zealand’s General Manager Inshore, Tiff Bock, talks about cameras – the 219 onboard units now operating across the inshore fleet quietly and consistently recording Kiwi fishers as they go about their work. For Tiff, these cameras are proving to be a real value-add for the sector. They are providing transparency, building public trust, and opening doors for smarter science and better management.
Lights, camera, fishing! Midway through the 2024–25 year, the rollout of the Ministry for Primary Industries' (MPI) onboard camera programme was completed. New Zealand now has the largest commercial fisheries camera programme anywhere in the world. That’s a monitoring scale few countries have even attempted and one our sector – and all New Zealanders – should be proud of.
Naturally, having cameras on board took a bit of getting used to. There were some teething issues, but by and large fishers have simply kept doing what they do best.
Between July 2024 and June 2025, these cameras recorded over 37,000 fishing events. Around 27 percent of the footage has been reviewed by our regulator, MPI, with reviewers focusing on trips involving protected species interactions, high-risk areas and a mix of random checks to keep an eye on activities across the board.
The early feedback from MPI has been encouraging. The footage confirms what we know from working alongside fishers: that the vast majority are doing the right thing.
As expected, cameras have sharpened reporting around catch and bycatch. At times, some of these numbers have been used to villainise the industry, often presented without explanation or context from industry. Percentages can be dramatic when reported without scale (e.g. a 950 percent increase being a change of roughly one fish per event), and data without comparison can create a distorted picture.
What we can say with certainty is that all of these numbers were within what was expected and sustainable, and now we have the verification to show that.
What cameras provide – and what we have never had before – is verified data. We now have a reliable baseline. And that is where the real value lies. This data, which people can access on the MPI website, is helping us identify where more research could make a difference, where extra support for fishers is needed and where management approaches can be refined for better outcomes.
A practical example of cameras enabling smarter management is the current proposal being consulted on to allow surface longliners (about 20 vessels in New Zealand) with cameras (or human observers) to land marlin that arrive onboard dead, rather than discarding them. Around 60–80 marlin a year fall into this category, and cameras would make sure only those that are dead are kept.
To us, it makes sense – it reduces waste and provides local product for New Zealanders. I know people are worried fishers will start targeting marlin, but it just isn’t worth it. The boats that are incidentally catching marlin are targeting tuna species, which are much higher value.
Verified footage also opens the door to more industry-led research. As an example, camera footage can be used to verify that fishers are adhering to scientific protocols. This ability supported the delivery of the first industry-led trawl survey in Area 2, where three vessels carried out scientific tows to monitor fish species.
Of course, the rollout of cameras hasn’t been without its challenges. Technician shortages caused installation delays, and early cabling issues led to screen interference, creating frustration for fishers committed to doing things right from day one. Despite these teething problems, the system is proving more robust than anticipated: failure rates are low, the equipment is resilient and footage quality is consistently high enough to support confident review and decision-making.
Measuring the full benefits of the programme will take time. But we are already seeing some benefits. With greater transparency comes the potential for greater flexibility, innovation and industry-led science. Cameras don’t just observe; they enable.
