Crayfish Crisis: Take Action

Overview

LegaSea initiated the Crayfish Crisis campaign in February 2018 to raise public awareness about the depleted state of crayfish on the northeast coast of the North Island, CRA 2 . There is wide public interest in the management of New Zealand’s crayfish stocks, particularly CRA 2.

Elements of the campaign included a video, a detailed webinar, and survey. The campaign video attracted 36,000 views. Over 4000 survey responses were received, from fishers and non-fishers. Survey responses informed a recreational submission made to the Ministry for Primary Industries in February. The Minister of Fisheries reduced the Total Allowable Commercial Catch by 60% in April 2018.

Campaign material featured on television, in print and social media, receiving the broadest coverage for a LegaSea campaign since Save Our Snapper in 2013.

Why is there a crisis?

CRA 2 was last reviewed in 2014. Those management changes failed to rebuild the fishery, leaving CRA 2 at an all-time low level. When the Ministry advised in January 2018 they were reviewing crayfish management in four areas around New Zealand LegaSea decided to take action.

The Minister needed to know that the public were concerned that crayfish abundance in CRA 2 had collapsed, and people wanted the fishery to be rebuilt to healthy levels.

What was the response?

An alliance of the largest representative recreational fishing organisations in New Zealand responded to the Ministry’s proposals in February. Ministry propose in Option 1 to cut the Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) by 30% to double the current stock size in 9 years. Option 2 was a 40% TACC cut for a 7-year rebuild to double the stock size. Option 3 was a 50% TACC cut for an estimated 5-year rebuild to double the stock size. Option 4 was a 60% reduction to the TACC to double the stock size in an estimated 4-year timeframe. Survey responses informed the recreational submission to the Ministry.

Take-outs from the survey included:

• 73% of respondents supported restoring marine abundance.
• Fishers and non-fishers want conservative management of crayfish stocks.
• 39% supported a 60% reduction in the commercial catch limit Option 4.
• 42% supported closing CRA 2 to all fishing for a time.
• Most respondents fished in the Hauraki Gulf, Coromandel or Mayor Island.
• 89% of respondents who had caught crayfish in CRA 2 rated the size and availability of crayfish as poor (48%) or decimated (41%).

Campaign summary

The Crayfish Crisis campaign attracted a high level of public engagement. The survey attracted almost five times as many responses when compared to the 2017 LegaSea crayfish survey.

The 2018 survey represents the largest ever survey of crayfish and recreational fishing-diving interests in New Zealand. This growth in engagement is a reflection of the strong support for the campaign from the dive fraternity, many individuals, tackle and dive outlets, and organisations.

LegaSea and the New Zealand Sport Fishing Council thank all survey respondents and acknowledge the New Zealand Angling & Casting Association and Spearfishing New Zealand for their input and support for the joint recreational submission made to the Ministry in February 2018.

LegaSea and the NZSFC also acknowledge the strong support for the CRA 2 submission from the New Zealand Underwater Association, representing recreational divers. This support is most welcome and LegaSea will continue to build relationships with the dive community over time.

Public awareness

LegaSea has produced a raft of articles and material for various publications and outlets. This is a selection of the material from the 2018 Crayfish Crisis campaign.

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History

Crayfish at crisis point

August 27, 2025 From Mahurangi Matters, August 2025. There was a time when packs of crayfish marched in their thousands from East Cape up the northeast coast. The seafloor hidden beneath a moving mass of antennas and limbs – a magnificent sight. Today these marches are rare. Instead, red rock lobster populations across east Northland are at crisis ... Read more.

LegaSea newsletter #170 – Crayfish in the spotlight

August 27, 2025 Thank you to everyone who answered the call in our last email. Together, we raised close to $10,000 to fuel the fight for our fish. That show of support was powerful – it tells us that thousands of Kiwis are ready to stand up against a system designed to protect industrial fishing interests at the ... Read more.

Pressure on Crayfish set to rise in Hauraki Gulf and Bay of Plenty

January 23, 2025 Media Release A new proposal to increase commercial crayfish catch limits threatens to deplete already dangerously low crayfish populations in significant coastal areas of east Northland and the Hauraki Gulf. Fisheries NZ is looking to increase commercial catch limits on the northeast coast of New Zealand between Te Arai Point and East Cape, an area ... Read more.

LegaSea newsletter #156 – Brand new year, still the same old crap

January 22, 2025 We hope you’re feeling recharged after the summer break because we’ll need every ounce of energy to tackle what may be the most shocking example of regulatory capture by the commercial fishing industry yet. Right now, we’re staring down the grim reality of a proposed commercial catch increase in CRA 2 (Te Arai Point down ... Read more.

Innovative solutions to restore crayfish numbers

February 20, 2022 When science and decision-making collide in the world of fisheries management, conservation is most often the loser. Fisheries New Zealand recently proposed a 5 to 15 percent cut to commercial catch limits in the northern crayfish fishery and catch increases in southern areas. LegaSea worked with our New Zealand Sport Fishing Council fisheries team and ... Read more.

Crayfish – the status quo is unacceptable

December 24, 2018 As we lurch our way into the silly season it is only natural that our thoughts turn to fishing and diving for the delicacies we have dreamt about all year. Crayfish is on the top of many people’s wish list, to say thanks to someone special, for sharing with the whanau or as a holiday ... Read more.

Conservation worth celebrating

December 2, 2018 It is not very often we get to celebrate good news in fisheries management but it’s worth popping the corks for this conservation initiative. In September the 34,000 strong New Zealand Sport Fishing Council announced it was promoting a voluntary reduction of the recreational crayfish bag limit in the Hauraki Gulf and Bay of Plenty. ... Read more.

Calling time on the QMS

September 2, 2018 Crayfish on the northeast coast is just one of a litany of fish stocks well below what ordinary Kiwis would consider abundant and available. This dissatisfaction was evidenced during LegaSea’s recent Crayfish Crisis campaign when so many divers, fishers, and the New Zealand Underwater Association stood up and had their say. LegaSea was grateful for ... Read more.

No crayfish closure

May 26, 2018 Stuart Nash, Minister of Fisheries, has decided not to close the crayfish fishery between the Hauraki Gulf and Bay of Plenty, known as the CRA 2 region. Instead, annual catch limits for commercial and recreational fishers were reduced as of April 1st. The new Total Allowable Commercial Catch has been reduced from 200 to 80 ... Read more.

Mixed bag of management changes for crayfish

April 23, 2018 In March the Minister of Fisheries Stuart Nash announced a raft of management changes for four crayfish stocks between the Hauraki Gulf and Southland. From April 1st there were commercial catch reductions in two stocks and increases for the Wellington-Hawke’s Bay region and the Southern – Fiordland fish stock. The joint submission from recreational fishers ... Read more.

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