Orange roughy catch limit slashed

Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton has slashed the commercial catch limit for orange roughy in the northern North Island by over 40 per cent.

He said yesterday that from next month the legal annual catch would be reduced to 800 tonnes a year for the stock around the North Island.

The announcement follows concerns from fisheries scientists about "industry governance", including the way that catch limits on some sub-areas within the management zone were being exceeded, particularly in the targeting of particular seamounts.